Scholarship
by Aition
Summary: Natsume is the heir to his fathers company, an heir who's been pulled through the same boring schedule every day of his life -Wake up, breakfast, maintainence, school, work, sleep and then it repeats. He's the top student in the academy known as Gakuen Alice, but for how long? WARNING: Not a fairytale, people. Beware.
1. Meet Mikan Nendo

**Well, crap. I didn't expect a response to 'Are you with me?' but it sure as heck seems like I got one. I did say (at least I think I did and if I didn't I'm sorry but I'm saying it now) that I want to fix the chapters up a bit, so I'm just in the editing process now. When I finish, I'll update a real chapter 14 so bear with me. Thanks so much guys, you're absolute legends for sticking with me after a year of nothing. I love you! x**

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**Scholarship**

**Chapter 1: Meet Mikan Nendo**

Natsume sighed, closing his eyes as the steaming hot water poured through his hair and over he's body. _School suck,_ he thought in dismay, just as he did every other morning. Natsume followed same overly lame routine every day: Wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, shower, get dressed, pack bags, call parents about business, school, work, gym, more work, dinner, brush teeth, shower, sleep - repeat. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, _repeat_. _This is my last year…_ he thought with a sense of relief. _No more squealing girls, no more try-hard guys, and no more suck up teachers._

Natsume, along with a lot of others heirs to rich businesses, attended an elite school called Gakuen Alice. It wasn't his choice, it was an unspoken rule. Everyone in his family went to Gakuen Alice, so he had to as well. There were, of course, some bonuses – such as; he lived in a boarding house in the academy, which meant he didn't have to put up with his nuisance of a family. Of course living in a boarding house meant that he had to live with nineteen others his age, and a 'peacekeeper' – otherwise known as a teacher with nothing better to do with his free time. Most of the kids who went to Gakuen Alice stayed in boarding houses due to the size of the academy. Living on campus just made life more convenient for them all.

Bonus number two: no poor people. Ever. No commoner could get into the school, because none of them were smart enough to meet the standards for scholarships. Sure, there might have been one or two a few decades ago, before technology became so advanced and the lower class was left behind.

This thought train swiftly brought Natumse back around to the odd rumour Ruka had informed him of.

Apparently, according to Sumire – whose information is always 80% lies and totally exaggerated – some commoner girl with an uncanny IQ got herself in on a scholarship. If somehow the laws of the universe and nature themselves were broken and this were true (which Natsume seriously doubted) the girl wouldn't last long. The students of Gakuen Alice wouldn't stand for association with commoners, dirty street trash and all the sorts that they were.

Once he was out of the shower and dressed for school in his uniform **(A/N: Err, stick with the middle school uniform in the manga/anime.)** he plopped himself down comfortably into a study chair, collected his phone and dialled his mother reflexively.

"Natsume, my darling. Sorry I can't talk this morning, I'm almost late for a business meeting. We'll need you at the office after school. Have fun, darling, mummy and daddy love you!" _Beep._

"That was quick. And expected." He muttered as he locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket. He collected up his laptop bag and strolled down stairs, not surprised to find his house mates already long gone. Everyone had made plans to arrive early this morning, to see if the unlikely rumour about a scholarship student was true. He knew better then to waste his time. Even in the rumour was true, what was so interesting about one poor girl? It was easy enough to spot them in the city as they went about their mundane lives.

When he arrived at school he saw a group of people walking around, clearly searching for something rather specific. He glanced at his watch. _Ten minutes..._ He saw Sumire's expensive perm and instantly took a side path around to the Northgate courtyard. He enjoyed sitting under the Sakura trees while he checked the stock market.

Walking past a traumatized shrub, he was intrigued to hear hard panting, quickly followed by the abrupt sound of a choking cough. Giving himself to the intrigue Natsume daintily pushed aside a cluster of branches, and his gaze was almost instantly met with shocked chocolate brown eyes staring up at him with pure exhaustion. "Oh crap." The girl murmured, dropping her head. She was wearing the uniform, which made her a student... or did it? Natsume was sceptical. She had a black messenger bag, but he couldn't tell what brand it was. It looked cheap, so it probably wasn't a brand name. Her long brown hair was in a ponytail.

"Out of curiosity," he began, watching as her head lifted cautiously. "Might I ask why you're hiding in the shrubs?" he inquired with a quirked brow. The girl quickly turned bright pink as heat flushed her already-bright-red cheeks.

"I'm hiding, obviously. Evidently not very well. You're not going to call them over, are you?" She asked. Her eyes grew slightly wider in preparation for an unpleasant reply.

Natsume – confused beyond plausible reason – kept watching her until finally, he realized who she must have been. "You're the scholarship student?" he asked, she nodded. "I see." He nodded in acknowledgement before he released the shrub, allowing them to fling back and swat her sharply in the face. "Back with you, dirty commoner, to your natural habitat."

Natsume slid down the trunk of a sakura tree and proceeded to pull out his laptop, propping it on his knee. He logged into his account, and began researching, following his morning ritual. It was always good to get as much work done as he could. He paid no heed to the girl that crawled out of the bushes covered in dust and shrubbery, although he did note when she stood up and quickly surveyed her surroundings. Satisfied she was in no immediate danger, she gave herself a quick pat down, tightened her pony tail, adjusted her bag on her hip and then – just as the bell was going – strode off towards the main block like every other student in sight.

He followed suit, headed off towards the block that held his homeroom. Naturally, Natsume had top marks and, of _course_, he was the schools number one in athletics _and _academics. No one could match him. Just to top that, he was perfectly gorgeous: lean muscles, silky soft hair, and luscious drool-worthy long-lashed crimson eyes.

Natsume walked into the room and took his seat between Koko and Ruka, his two best friends. He'd known them since his seemingly brief childhood – yes, contrary to popular belief, Natsume Hyuuga actually had a childhood. Tsubasa and Tobita were also close by. "Hey, Nat. The new kids in our class. Look." Ruka said, inclining his head to the front of the room.

Narumi was standing out front, about to introduce the new girl. Natsume glanced up, surveyed her, and then went back to staring out the window. She was, oddly enough, beautiful, in an ugly way. Or was it ugly, in a beautiful way? She looked beautiful, but it was easy to tell just by glancing at her that she didn't belong. She slouched, drooped her shoulders, leant to one side and worst of all, she had a hand on her bag. None of the upper class would ever be raised so sluggishly. "Not interested." Natsume grunted to Ruka, who shrugged and pulled out his math's books, preparing for Jinno sensei's lesson and paying no heed to the workings of the classroom.

"Alright, class!" Narumi began in an attempt to demand the rooms undivided attention. "As some of you may have already heard, we have a new student! This is Mikan Nendo, and yes she is a scholarship student. Despite the fact that she did not pay to be here does not make her any different to you though, so please take care of her." He finished with a content smile. He pushed her forward. "You can sit next to Hotaru Imai on the left side, second last row."

Mikan, seemingly indifferent to the status of those she faced, nodded briefly before strolling down the aisle to her seat. _She even walks like a commoner._ Natsume thought, disgusted by the idea. He had no doubt that she'd begin trying to suck up to Imai or Umenomiya, who she was sitting next to. She'd want in with the rich kids, hoping they could buy her all sorts of pretty little gifts she could never hope to afford herself.

"Hello Imai." She said, nodding. She turned and nodded to Anna, too, smiling. _Here we go,_ thought Natsume, smirking at his rightness.

"Hello, Nendo." Imai replied, nodding.

"I'm Anna Umenomiya. You can call me Anna, though. It's nice to meet you, Nendo." Anna said, smiling brightly as she pushed her pink hair back behind her ears.

"You too, Anna." Mikan replied, smiling brightly. "Call me Mikan, then. I look forward to being your classmate." She said before she turned back to the front, pulling out her math books to read ahead.

_What, that's it?_ He thought, perplexed. _Shouldn't she be trying to prolong the conversation? To get in good with Umenomiya or Imai? She must have a plan. She'd have to be smart, after all._ He muttered, shaking his head and opening his text book to start reading the new unit.

When math's class was over Natsume had a self-study period. Self-study period was a privilege given to only the most trusted and most promising students. That's why only he, Nonoko, Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, Anna, Koko, Youichi, Tsubasa, and Misaki got to skip whatever subjects that didn't want to learn, already knew or didn't need.

When he arrived at the library he nodded to the librarian and swiped his student ID in the Special-student card slip, gaining access to the elevator. Only the top ten students in the school – usually tends to be the student council – have little stars on their ID cards, identifying them as Special-star students, also allowing them access to wherever they so please. Even the teacher staffroom.

The roof was, of course, a roof, although it'd been designed as a study area. Around the edge was a glass fence, to ensure nobody fell over the edge. Then exotic trees and plants grew all over the place. There where marble stone paths through the gardens, and in the middle there was a large marble plateau. In the middle of the plateau, there was a table with ten chairs, and a large heater that warmed almost the entire roof. There were other heaters spread out, also. Around the edges there were comfortable sofas, a mini fridge that was constantly supplied with fresh water and soft drinks, and whatever else the students asked to have placed in the garden.

Natsume had his own sacred area. The other nine star students knew to stay clear from it. The sakura tree. He'd had it planted specially. That's all it was. A medium sized Sakura tree with a soft patch of grass underneath. That's all he needed to relax and think. Thinking was of top priority. When he thought, new products, new advertising methods, new partners and anything else of importance always popped up into his mind.

So he slid down in he's usual spot, and he thought.

What felt like half an hour later Natsume woke to the sound of absurdly loud laughter, and the voice of someone he cursed darkly: Narumi-sensei. "What's he doing here, damn it?" he growled, climbing to his feet to hunt down the source of the pointless sound. When he arrived at his destination, he wasn't surprised to find the Star-students, his closest friends, standing around on the plateau. No surprise to see Narumi. It was the grinning little poor girl that surprised him. "What's going on?" Natsume asked, yawning.

Mikan looked him over with curiosity – or was it actually disdain? Natumse couldn't be sure. "Narumi-sensei is giving me a quick tour of all the place's I'll likely need to be familiar with." Mikan answered, smiling a strange smile. Was she taunting him? Perhaps she was angry that he'd practically smacked her in the face with a shrub branch.

Natsume's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think you'll need to be familiar with an area that _off limits_ to ordinary students?"

"What makes you think," Mikan countered immediately, raising an eyebrow. "That I'm an _ordinary_ student?" she smirked at his dumbfounded expression. _Did she just back-chat me?_ He demanded in disbelief. No one ever dared to back-chat the Hyuuga's. No one ever had the authority. Sure, there was, like, _one_ maybe _two _companies that were bigger and richer then his, but Sakura Co. didn't have any heirs and neither did the other place. And Natsume's father was a close acquaintance with Izumi.

"You're right," he muttered. "A normal student wouldn't be wearing an untailored, second hand uniform to school. They wouldn't be as ugly as you, and they'd have to brains to keep their mouths shut when it's necessary. You're not ordinary, far from it."

Everything froze. Mikan stared at him, examining every microscopic hair that covered his body, before she raised her piercing gaze to his, where it remained. "You seem to think quite highly of yourself, Hyuuga." She said, surprising them all with a blindingly bright smile. "I don't like your attitude. Although you're probably just moody and pissed off that a commoner knocked you down to second rate, eh? It's alright. Hug your pillow tight and you'll make it through the night." She finished in an overly sweet voice, no hints of antagonism on her unnatural still-smiling-for-no-apparent-reason face.

Natsume stared, clearly taken aback. He wanted to laugh and shout at her at the same time. What an _attitude_! What gave her, a commoner, the right to oppose him, the sole heir to the third largest company in Japan? Or perhaps, it was _because_ she was a commoner. She didn't have to suck up to him and his business, because she didn't have to consider future partnerships. _How irritating…_ he thought scornfully, his eye twitching unconsciously.

Mikan winked and turned back to the others. "I hope I can join you here, after the exams, if I'm still in the top ten." She waved, striding off through the garden with Narumi close behind. "See you soon, Hyuuga!" she called out in the distance, a not-so-subtle hint of victory radiating out of her cheerful voice.

"Damn her," he growled, thumping a fist into the table that sat in the middle of the courtyard. "Ruka, she didn't actually score higher than me, did she?" he demanded, turning on his bunny-like best friend.

"Err…" Ruka, took a step back, scratching nervously at his head. "Well… at the moment, yeah… but that was because of the entrance exam! That's all! I'm sure you'll beat her in the exams tomorrow. She's just a commoner, after all. Her education is third rate. She probably won't even make the top one hundred."

"You're right." Natsume said, sighing in relief. The others stared in disbelief. Natsume had never lost his temper in front of people, nor had he shown any sign that he could feel anything other than boredom and general resentment for everyone he laid eyes upon.

"No, you're both idiots." Hotaru butt in. "If she got into Gakuen Alice on a scholarship, then she'd have to be the smartest student in the school. _Those _are the expectations." She said. "Although what Ruka said is partly true. If someone gets a higher score then her in the exams tomorrow, she'll probably lose her scholarship. It's probably a trial."

"Which means she'll be gone after tomorrow. No more dirty, disrespectful commoner trash." He concluded, grinning widely as he ignored the obvious facts Hotaru had presented about her having to be somewhat intelligent. "Brilliant."


	2. Exams

**Well, I _did_ update today, the chapters just way too short. Sorry, we had out athletics carnival today so I'm practically walking dead, and I've got a load of homework to do that i SHOULD have done yesterday while I still had the chance.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! That really surprised me - 14 on the first chapter :D! I love you guys, and I'm so glad you's like my stories \(^_^)/**

**So, he's to too-short chapter two! I hope you like it :)  
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**2**

Natsume sat in his seat which was, to his dismay, directly beside the commoner's. She was chatting away with Anna, Koko and Yu, looking totally carefree and unconcerned. It didn't make sense to him – she should be panicking and scanning through notes frantically, trying to jam as much information into that empty skull of hers before the exams started.

Yet she just _sat_ there, talking to the others like they were all best friends. That she was talking to anybody was a miracle in itself – most of the people in his school would shriek in terror if they had to sit close to a commoner, little own speak with one.

That supported his original theory, though – she was sucking up to people, trying to get in good with them. He's eyes narrowed as he tried to dig a hole through her skull and into her peanut sized brain, where he could read what she was thinking.

"The tests will start in five minutes. Finishing revising your notes, collect your equipment, quiet down and face the front." Narumi said, handing out papers.

Natsume smirked in anticipation.

-- **(after the exams – half an hour until they get their exams back.)**

"How'd you go, Natsume?" Ruka asked, stretching out his fingers. "I'm confident I'll remain in fourth place overall, if I don't go up to third. Think you beat to commoner?"

Natsume scoffed. "I don't need to _think_ to beat a commoner, Ruka." He said, feeling a hot glare on his shoulder. "We'll get our exams back, I'll be back on top, and then she'll be kicked out – simple as that."

He heard disbelieving giggles from behind him and turned to see Mikan holding a hand over her mouth in an attempt to smother them. Breathing in and out, she shook her head. "You do know that even if by some miracle you manage to score higher than me, Hyuuga, that I still won't be kicked out? I have to remain first out of the _girls_, silly little _boy_." She smirked. "I'm not usually one for gambling, but why don't we have ourselves a little wager?" she raised an eyebrow, looking infuriatingly cocky and laid-back.

"What sort of Wager?" he snapped, wishing that she was male so that he could clobber him over the head with the biggest thing he could find.

"If I beat you, you have to live like a commoner for, let's say… a week? That means you'll eat cheap, processed food, untailored uniforms, no computers and cell phones." She grinned. "If you beat me, I'll leave the school even if I remain the best out of the girls."

_She's confident enough for that? What a fool._ He thought bitterly, the corner of his lip lifting. "Deal, commoner. You'd better start packing your bags, because I want you out immediately."

A gasp sounded from behind him. That gasp was extremely familiar, and was usually followed by.. "Oh, my, GOD!" Sumire's annoying squeaky voice echoed from behind him. "Natsume made a bet with the commoner girl! If he loses, he has to live like a commoner for a week! If she loses, she'll leave and never return!" she announced loudly, pruning her hair now that all eyes were directed at her.

The attention quickly flickered down to Natsume and Mikan – Natsume who was smirking evilly and Mikan who looked completely unfazed by all of the attention. "We'll see, Hyuuga. We'll see." Was all she said before she turned back to the front, ending the conversation.

As the minutes ticked by the tension level of the classroom rose. Constant chatter and bets were filtering through Natsume's ears, and he felt a slight pang of anxiety, alongside a truck load of anger.

Here he was, beginning to stress himself out from the wait – yet every time he glanced over at the commoner she was just sitting there, smiling happily like she didn't have a care in the world.

He wanted to attack her, to beat her into a sense of fear and anxiety – but he'd destroy his reputation and his future if he ever dared to pursue that hopeful feeling. It continued that way while they waited.

Five minutes before the due time, the door opened and Narumi came in with a box of marked tests. The room was absolutely silent as he made his way to his desk.

"Well now, students! You're all so quiet and still! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were behaving!" he grinned, holding up two test papers. "But of course I do know better. Teacher knows all." The names on the test papers he held were no surprise – Mikan and Natsume, of course. Although, how Narumi knew what was going on was beyond Natsume.

Narumi handed out all of the test papers, except Mikan's and Natsume's. When he was finished, he sat at his desk with their papers sitting in front of him neatly, waiting to be read. "I think I'll do this the… suspenseful way. I'll go through each question, and announce what results each of you got."

And he did. He went through each and every one of the 50 hard questions, slowly, to build the tension up to the point that when he came to the last question, everybody was on the edge of their seats. Except Natsume. He played it cool. He took pleasure in noting the concentrated look on Mikan's face, though.

"Question 50. Natsume's answer was…" he's smile dropped, and he glanced up with a look of remorse. Natsume's heart stopped and he prepared to calm himself – if he wasn't quick about it, he'd lose control of himself when he heard the answer. "It was… correct." Natsume released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Mikan's answer was…" Narumi's face turned down in a sudden frown, like he was extremely confused. "it's… incorrect?"

There was as intake of shocked breaths from around the room, every face instantly turning to Mikan. He was sitting perfectly still. Natsume couldn't tell if she was indifferent or frozen in place out of shock. Her eyebrow twitched, and he fought to hold back a smile.

"I won. So you can start packing—," Natsume began his victory speech, only to be cut of by Narumi.

"But," he said, smirking mischeviously. "Miss Nendo scored extra points for correcting question 29, which brings the overall scores of Mikan Nendo and Natsume Hyuuga to a tie." He announced, grinning wildly. Clearly, he was enjoying this.

Unlike Natsume, who's eyebrow was twitching furiously. Before he could utter a single word of protest, he was cut off by Mikan's delighted laughter. She didn't bother trying to hide it back or smother it – she laughed out right and loudly, water brimming the edges of her eyes. Everyone in the room stared at her like she'd lost her mind.

"I—your eyebrow! It – it was twitching! Actually _twitching_!" she declared incredulously, pointing at him while she tried to suck more air into her lungs. "Oh! Wow, that was good, hilarious. I like you, Hyuuga – I've never had this much fun before." She thought for a moment then shrugged. "Well, not since I moved, anyway." She grinned shaking her head. "Tell me, honestly – which emotion made it twitch? Anger, surprise, irritation or all three?"

Natsume stared at her like she had eight arms and ten eyes. She was actually _laughing_ at him. Her, a lowly little peasant, laughing at _him_, the sole heir to the second largest company in the world. Was she insane? Perhaps suicidal? Did she think she could actually get away with that? How stupid could one commoner be?

Mikan continued watching him, then cracked up again. "Oh my god! It's twitching again!" she chortled, dropping her forehead onto her arm as she continued her uncontrollable waves of laughter. Every now and then it seemed she'd stop, but then she'd glance up and start all over again.

It would be an understatement to say that Natsume was simply 'annoyed' or 'angry' – he was beyond furious, too. He'd never felt the need to physically assault someone before, but he was feeling it now. He wanted her gone. Long gone. Dead, if that's what it took to make her vanish.

"H-hey, Natsume. We can go back to the dorm now." Ruka had obviously noticed Natsume's failing temper and had the mind to interfere and stop his best friend from committing murder.

Natsume nodded stiffly, knowing very well that if he tried to utter a single word he'd start yelling his head off. He was busy this afternoon, anyway. He's dad had organized a meeting with Izumi Sakura, head of Sakura Co., to discuss the possibility of partnership in the near future.

So he followed Ruka out the door, not noticing the calculating smirk that Mikan was wearing as she disappeared from his sight.

She was planning something.


	3. The Sakura Heir

**17 reviews for one chapter made me feel warm and fuzzy inside XD Thanks guys \(^_^)/ Its because of you guys and your awesome motivation that i continue writing :')**

**Further into this chapter I've brought in another manga called 'Angelic Layer'. I did it on impulse, but only because I thought it served purpose. I want say any more, because it'll give thigns away. But yes, I've got no claim on 'Angelic Layer'. Or Gakuen Alice :( Too bad, huh?**

**Anyway! Sorry for the wait, I had (still have...) a load of stupid homework, because I was away for a few days last week...*sigh*...**

**Okay, enough. I hope you like it - I think there a little bit of pointlessness in this one, i got a little carried away... anyway! Enjoy :)!  
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3**

Natsume and his father were sitting across the table from Izumi Sakura. The two older men were speaking about stock markets and other useless things that Natsume had checked up on earlier that day.

He was still trying to contain his rage from earlier with that idiot commoner and that stupid exam. He'd thought about hiring a profession killer to dispose of her, but had decided against – if that homicide was linked back to him he'd be ruined.

Natsume wanted to hurry up and get the meeting over and done with, but apparently they were waiting for someone _important_. He couldn't even begin to guess who might be so important that the two top businessmen and a rich heir had to wait for. It was supposed to be a _private_ meeting, anyway.

On queue **(A/N: Which 'cue' should be used here?)** with his impatient thoughts the office door creaked open, revealing a boy about the same age as him. He was wearing baggy jeans an open black jacket to a red shirt. He had chocolate brown eyes and hair, and he wore a white flat brim baseball cap to hide the fact he hadn't bothered to brush his hair. His hands were in his pockets and he was leaning against the door frame, acting natural.

"Who are you? This is a private meeting." Natsume snapped, glad to have finally found someone to release his pent up frustrations on.

The boy glanced at him and smirked before pushing off the door frame with his shoulder and strolling over to the spare seat next to Natsume. He sat down, paying no attention to Natsume, and crossed his feet on the table. "Hey, dad. Sorry I'm late – had to catch the bus 'cause mum was too busy to pick me up."

Izumi looked up at the teen and grinned widely. "Akira, son! How was school? Why didn't you call me? I'd have come to get you."

Natsume blinked, completely dumbfounded. "_Son_?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Son," Akira repeated, nodding. "Five different meanings. A) One's male child, B) A male descendant, C) A man considered as if in a relationship of a child to parent, example being _A son of the soil_, D) One personified or regarded as a male descendant and E)Used as a familiar form of address for a young man." He turned his gaze to Natsume. "In this case, I believe he was referring to A and B."

Natsume glared. "I know what son means, you conceited fool." He all but growled. "I was under the impression that the Sakura family had no heirs. Were you adopted?"

Izumi chuckled. "Akira, stop trying to annoy Natsume. You and he will need to have a strong relationship in the future." He said, causing Akira to mutter something inaudible under his breath. "Akira is my birth son. We just keep that fact hidden from the media, so he can live a normal life."

Natsume shrugged, already harboring a fierce dislike towards his new rival and possible future partner. "Alright, whatever. It doesn't matter." He sighed, shaking his head. "Now that he's here, can we begin the meeting? I've got things to do." _Like sleeping._ He added silently.

Izumi nodded. "We've already agreed on a partnership on the ten new products we've created and bought. Akira, did you bring the folders?"

Akira bit his lip. "Err, well about that… I was sorta' in a hurry to get here, and I left my bag on the bus." He held a hand up to silence His father, who was already opening his mouth in preparation for a good lecture. "I called the bus driver, he's got my bag, but he can't drop it off. All I need is a pen and paper and I can fix this up. Or a computer would be better."

Natsume frowned. "If you keep important documents available in your email inbox they'll be stolen. It's not safe."

Akira raised an eyebrow, question him. "I never said anything about emails." He said, turning back to his father. "I'll need about half an hour to type them all out. Is that inconvenient?"

Izumi shook his head. "Fine with me, son. But the Hyuuga's might have plans. Perhaps we should reschedule?"

**(If anyone knows Natsume's dads real name, please do tell ;D)** Ryou Hyuuga shook his head. "We're both fine."

"I'll be going, then." Natsume said, standing. "I'll be back in twenty five minutes; I assume you'll be finished by then." Akira shrugged at him before he walked out of the room. He was hungry, annoyed and confused.

_How the hell is that idiot going to type out all of the documents without the originals? And in half an hour, no less!_ He thought, shaking his head. It was impossible for someone as unprofessional as that boy to be able to accomplish such a feat. Natsume would go back in twenty five minutes, after he'd eaten, and Akira would still be staring at the screen or the keyboard like an idiot.

He's dad had taken the time earlier to point out that several of the products in the new shopping line were invented by the so called 'important person' who'd turned out to be that Akira. So Akira had invented some of the products, which meant he could probably get those down easily – but what about the others? There was no way.

Neither his dad nor Izumi bothered to tell him what the products were about, either. But since the new shopping line was based on high-tech toys, it was easy to assume they'd be PC games or robots of some sort.

He stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the first floor. He'd seen a Taiyaki store just down the road – that's where he was headed. Sure, it wasn't his favorite food, but it'd tide him over till he could get back to his dorm.

He bought three and went and sat in his father's car to eat them. He didn't want to risk sitting on a public bench, god only knows what sort of unpleasant substances could wipe off on him.

The more he thought about that idiot Akira, the angrier he grew. That's when that stupid commoner, Mikan Nendo, slid into his head. When he stared comparing the two, he only grew more frustrated. They looked similar, acted similar and spoke similar. Most of all, they both pissed him off equally as much.

_No,_ he thought, shaking his head as he stared on his second Taiyaki. _Nendo's definitely worse. That Akira kid's just annoying._ He decided with a curt nod. He checked his watch and decided he could go in after he finished eating.

--

Natsume sighed as he reached for the office door handle. Surely that idiot Akira hadn't finished typing out the documents. Ryou and Izumi were probably sitting there becoming more and more impatient, just as he would.

When he opened the door he wasn't surprised to see… "What…?" he trailed off as he took in the sight before him: Akira was sitting back in his seat, as if he hadn't moved, the adults were both going over files, and the computer had been turned off.

"Ah, Natsume, you've returned!" Akira grinned, patting Natsume's seat. "Come, sit! I saved you the best seat." Akira reached out and grabbed the phone just as it began to ring. "Hello?" he said casually, smiling at Natsume with superiority.

Natsume took his seat, watching his father's face as he read through the file. He found it amusing to watch his different facial expressions.

"Ah! Thanks, Hikaru! I'll be right down, just –," he stopped, blinking twice. "Are you sure? I mean it's no hassle for me to catch the elevator down, I'm not doing anything at the moment." He listened, and then smiled. "Okay, I'll wait here. Thanks." He hung up the phone and turned to Natsume. "I've got something you might find interesting." He said.

Natsume resisted the urge to snort at him. "Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?" he inquired, trying to imagine the last time something had caught his interest.

"A toy." Akira said, grinning like to idiot he was. "A doll, to be precise." He held up a hand to silence Natsume as he prepared to chew out Akira's ear for that idiotic comment. "Tut tut, Natsume. Don't be so quick to assume I'm trying to piss you off." He paused then shrugged. "Okay, so maybe I was trying to piss you off a little, but I was serious about the doll. It's not like a Barbie doll or anything though, so just chill out a bit."

Natsume shrugged it off, choosing to save his breath and ignore him. He'd just openly admitted that he was trying to piss Natsume off. He was clearly _stupider_ then he'd first assumed, which was difficult to believe. Natsume had thought it impossible for any one person to be _that_ stupid.

They sat in silence, waiting for Hikaru. It didn't take long. There was a knock on the door and a timid voice. "Hello?"

"Come on in, Hikaru." Akira called back, turning in his seat to watch the door. A smallish women with short curly brown hair stood in the doorway. She was wearing an odd looking white dress with white gloves that had little wings on either side, and she had knee high boots on with watching wings. In her hands she held a large black bag that was padlocked shut.

"Is that cosplay?" Natsume blurted out, unable to restrain himself. It had to be cosplay – what sort of weirdo would wear an outfit like that for everyday life?

Hikaru blushed, looking very uncomfortable. She shook her head silently. "N-no. It's my uniform." She said, biting her lip. "H-here mi—ah! I mean sir! Here Mr. Sakura, sir." She stumbled forward, but before she could fall over a laughing Akira had he by the shoulders.

"Don't be so nervous, Hikaru. He looks scary, but he won't bite." Akira smirked over at Natsume. "You can go back to work now. I'll drop in later to check the progress, okay?" He took the bag and ruffled up her hair. "And stop referring to me so formally, okay? How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Hikaru went to bow but then stopped short, straightening up and scratching her head with a timid smile. "Sorry Akira-kun." She waved and retreated through the door. "Good bye." She closed the door as Akira sat down, placing the bag on the table.

"Are you always so casual with your employee's?" Natsume asked, genuinely interested. This guy would be the dream boss for most common workers – relaxed, friendly, calm and funny, but somehow professional at the same time. Natsume felt the tiniest bit of respect towards him now that he understood him that little bit more. Although he still didn't like him. At all.

"Sure, why not? We're all human beings, right?" he grinned. "I pity people that live each day stuck on repeat, and I despise those who try to such others into that boredom. You've only got one life! It should be enjoyed." He shrugged. "At least, that's how I see it."

Natsume felt his lip tip up in a half hearted smile _I pity people that live each day stuck on repeat…_ that lien ran through his head and he heard himself chuckle. "That's an interesting way to look at things." He admitted, watching Akira unlock the padlock. "What's in the bag?"

Akira smirked. "Toys." He aid simple, unzipping the bag. He pulled out a series of strange high tech look things and placed them on the table. Then he pulled out two eggs with wings. Natsume saw the words _ANGEL_ written on the front midsection of each. "These are angels. Do you want the boy or the girl?"

Natsume frowned. "Angels? What –,"

"Akira," Izumi interrupted, looking up from his files. "I suggest you take that to the conference room. There's not enough room for it here, and I don't want my office dirtied. And make sure you open the eggs in the bathroom."

Akira huffed. "Fine. But you've gotta' bring Mr. Hyuuga to see the products afterwards, okay? I think he'll be interested in seeing the product in action."

--

Natsume sighed again, annoyed at himself and his burning curiousity.

He was holding an egg the size of a soccer ball in the men's bathroom with Akira. He'd picked the male one, which left Akira with the female. Apparently, they had to open the eggs somewhere they wouldn't create a big mess.

But annoyed him was _why_ he was there, playing Akira's stupid game. He'd been curious to see what could possibly be so fascinating about a doll, and why it required so much high tech equipment. So he was in a men's bathroom, holding a doll in an egg, with an idiot.

"Open it in the sink and down drink the fluid inside. Just take the doll out and tip the rest down the sink." Akira said, smiling.

Natsume held the egg over the sink the way Akira had instructed, and as Akira twisted the top off his egg, Natsume did the same. Inside was a white fluid, but no doll that he could see. He turned to Akira to tell him this, but saw that Akira had a hand in the bottom half of the egg and was pulling something out.

Natsume did the same, pulling out a creepy looking doll. It had a face, but no hair or clothes. Natsume held onto the doll and poured the liquid down the sink.

"Rinse them off and meet me back at the conference room. I'll set everything up." Akira said, walking out with his doll and empty egg.

Natsume frowned but did as he was told. He examined the doll, bending the arms and legs. He found that the doll was like a miniature human body – it could move the same way he did, but no further. Like a human, its legs would bend back, but not forward. "How realistic." He thought, smiling as he rinsed out the egg.

When he got back to the conference room, there were scissors and packets of materials out. "What's all that for?" Natsume asked, sitting down beside Akira. He'd forgotten his dislike for Akira and the fact that they were _playing with doll_, because he was completely fascinated by everything before him.

"Ah, you rinsed him good." Akira held out his hand. "Pass it here," he said. Natsume reluctantly handed him the doll and watched as he dropped it into a green cylinder. "Choose your type of angel with this." Akira pushed a small laptop thing that was connected to the green cylinder over to Natsume. "Split the parameter to the way you want."

The screen had several different types: Speed, Strength, Balance, Small, and Big. He chose to make it medium sized, fast and strong with medium balance. "What now?" he asked, looking up at Akira for further instructions.

"Put in a name." he said, clearly pleased that Natsume was enjoying himself. "Anything."

Natsume thought for a moment, then typed in 'Flame' as its name.

"Well done. It's done now, take it out. Flame's a cool name, and kind of ironic. I called mine Rain." Akira poked his tongue out in a teasing manner. "You know, you're not as stuck up as I thought you were, Hyuuga."

Natsume couldn't help but smirk. "You not as stupid, annoying or conceited as I thought you were either, Sakura." He retorted, looking it over. "It hasn't got any hair or clothes." He noted.

"Here." Akira passed Natsume a small wig with long crimson hair. "You can cut it however you want. And you use these materials to make clothes." Akira passed him several different colored materials and a small laser pen. "That pen is what you use to stitch them together. I won't help, so don't mess up."

Natsume didn't reply as he cut away at the wig.

--

Three hours later, he was finally done. Akira had finished in an hour and gone to get them something to eat, and their fathers hadn't come to see them yet.

Natsume had given his a long sleeved red and white coat and long white and red shorts. His boots and gloves were red as well. He'd given it messy red hair that suited it all pretty good.

Akira, on the other hand, had given his sky blue hair in a pony tail with bangs. His was a girl. He'd given her an elbow length blue and white shirt with match shorts. Then he'd given her blue gloves and blue boots.

Akira had just finished explaining how to use the doll on the layer. Apparently it only worked when he focused on it, and it followed his thoughts orders.

"Are you ready to fight, then?" Akira asked, placing Rain on the layer.

Natsume nodded, placing Flame on the layer opposite to Rain. "Should be."

"Then let's fight." He said, smiling.

--

Izumi and Ryou had come to watch Akira beat Natsume over and over again. It was to be expected, though. Akira had invented Angelic layer, he knew everything there was to know.

Akira was gone now, but he'd let Natsume keep all of the equipment so he could practice and get better. All in all after such a weird day, he'd forgotten about he's troubles with the idiot commoner Mikan and established a neutral relationship with Akira. He was an idiot, yes, but he was a genius.

"So, son. Think you'll be able to work well with Akira?" Ryou asked as he pulled up outside of Natsume's dorm.

Natsume shrugged and got out of the car. He stood at the door and waved bye to his dad. He smiled to himself. "Yeah," he said, opening the door. "I think I can."


	4. Childhood Friend

**Thanks for the reviews again, guys :D I was trying to update this chapter yesterday, but my internet messed up a bit. You know how I got it working again? It funny, really. I had to PAY MY BROTHER to fix it. My own family member demanded pay to fix soemthing he broke in the first place, damn it!**

**Anyway, now that I've got that out, here's chapter 4! Enjoy ^.^**

* * *

**4**

Natsume yawned, stretching out as he did so. Today would be the second day of putting up with the commoner _without_ snapping. Well, he hoped it would be. When he had spare time he'd have to devise an ingenious plan to have her removed from the country.

She was a commoner, right? Perhaps he could buy her off or something. She obviously wanted a bright future if she was attending Gakuen Alice, so perhaps he could start her up a business in a nice foreign country – say, like America. Somewhere _far_ away.

When he opened his eyes he became aware of Ruka and Koko. They were preoccupied with something, so they didn't notice that he'd woken up. "Might I ask what you're doing in my room this early?" he asked, yawning again.

Ruka turned around, holding onto a doll. Flame. "Why is there a doll in your room? And what's all this stuff for?" Ruka frowned, holding up the doll. "My main concern is why there is a _male_ doll in your room, Natsume. Is there something you need to tell us?"

Natsume glared at him. "It's not a doll." He snapped, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. Koko and Ruka gave him a look of clear disbelief. "Okay, it's a doll. But it's not an ordinary doll." He amended, searching for the shirt he pulled off last night. It was cold.

Koko snorted. "Of course not. Anything that interests you enough to get out of bed and not kick us out of your room in the morning mast be something that'll make you millions." He said, turning back to the layer he was examining. "And not all dolls come with a bunch of high tech stuff that confuses the hell out of me just by looking at it."

Natsume nodded. "Precisely. It's a new product from the Sakura's." he then went about explaining everything Akira had explained to him the night before, and gave a short demonstration with flame. They no longer doubted him.

--

"I want one." Koko repeated for the umpteenth time, taking his seat in homeroom.

Natsume sighed, taking his seat between Koko and Ruka. "I can't give you one yet. They're not on the market until Christmas." He repeated, finally losing his patients. "You can use mine, I guess. But if you break it, I'll break you. And never let anyone else see it."

Natsume found himself glaring at the back of a certain commoner's silky brown hair. _Damn,_ he thought harshly, sighing out loud. _And here I'd almost prayed that she'd mysteriously vanish over night._ He figured next time if he wanted someone to vanish over night, he shouldn't _almost_ pray, but perhaps actually take the time to pray.

"Oh, hey." Ruka leaned back on his chair so he was in line with Natsume. "Imai and Nendo seem to be getting along well. Of all the people Hotaru-chan could have allowed to speak to her, she chose a commoner. Don't you think that's weird?"

Natsume frowned in silent agreement. Imai wasn't nice to anyone, and she hardly ever communicated with others unless she was blackmailing them or making them feel like idiots. "Yeah. Yeah, it's weird." He shrugged. "I don't care. The commoner doesn't concern me, I plan to pretend she doesn't exist." He announced confidently. His confidence wavered when she turned around with a smirk on her face.

She just sat there, smirking at him like she knew all of his secrets. There was an odd look in her eyes – like she was going to talk, but didn't know how. Either that or she was just taunting him like she had yesterday. And the day before. She'd been around for _two_ days and she'd already pissed him off more than anyone had in almost seventeen damn years.

He sat there in his seat and glared back, trying to keep himself silent. He couldn't speak to someone who didn't exist. And that's what she was – someone who didn't exist. She was just an empty seat, another lost voice in the wind. She didn't matter.

But there she was. Staring at him with the cocky smirk plastered to her smug little face. She seemed so determined to make him acknowledge her, but at the same time it was so obvious that she couldn't care less.

Her smirk grew into a mischievous smile and a low chuckle escaped her lips as she turned back to the front, picking up her abandoned manga. "See? I told you so." She said, nudging Hotaru with her elbow. "Some genius." She muttered, shaking her head as if disappointed.

Hotaru shrugged. "I'll buy you your chocolate milk at lunch." She mumbled, clearly not pleased. "But you know it won't last. He's an idiot, after all. An idiot with a short temper. I bet he'll snap and chew you out by the end of the lunch."

Mikan held her hand out. "Deal. I'll buy you some crab brains if I'm wrong. You'll come to the river with me this Sunday if you're wrong."

Hotaru stared at Mikan's hand, hesitating. "10 cans of crab brains." She said, taking Mikan's hand. "Spending a day with you is worth twenty, but I think 10 will do." Hotaru shot a sideways glance to Natsume, who looked away immediately. "Won't even last till lunch." She added.

Mikan shrugged. "We'll see." And then she went back to reading her manga.

Ruka watched Natsume carefully, worried about his temper. "They're making bets about me, Ruka. And that commoner woman seems to be winning." He stated simply, somehow finding himself calm as he did so.

Ruka nodded. "They sure are." He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "I bet it's about you ignoring her. You should say something to her before lunch – then she'll have to buy Hotaru ten cans of crab brains."

Natsume's eyes lit up. "That's a fantastic idea." He declared, leaning back in his seat. "Crab brains are expensive, too. I bet she can't afford them. That'll teach her for being so damn cocky." He smiled maliciously.

Ruka nodded his agreement. "Yeah, probably not." He pursed his lips. "I'm getting more and more curious about her, though." He stated, leaning back beside his best friend. "How is it that she knows what Hotaru's favorite food is? And why is it that Hotaru actually talks to her? I've never seen her say so much in one day."

Natsume shrugged. "Imai's a weird one Ruka, face it. No one knows what goes through that mind of hers." It was true, Hotaru Imai was a very weird child, but she was brilliant. She was the smartest girl in the school, second only to Natsume.

Natsume frowned, backtracking in irritation. Okay, so she _used_ to be the smartest girl in the school, second only to Natsume. Now she was the _second_ smartest girl in the school, third to Natsume and Mikan. And Natsume was second.

To a commoner.

He found his eye brow twitching and slapped a hand on it to stop it. He didn't want the commoner laughing at him over something so juvenile.

Narumi walked in through the door, effectively silencing the chatting students and starting the lesson.

--

It was lunchtime at the cafeteria, and Natsume was already losing it. Sure, he wanted her to lose her bet and be inclined to pay Hotaru in crab brains that she couldn't afford, but it was just so _difficult_ to find the right moment to acknowledge her.

Every time he'd opened his mouth she'd shot him a look that said '_go ahead, try it. We'll see who's got the better insults, eh?_' and he'd shut his mouth, muttering to himself about ESP. What was worse was that he understood her silent message.

Which meant he understood what the commoner was saying using nothing buy physical signals.

Damn.

"Damn it Ruka! Ignoring her annoys me more than noticing her!" he growled, biting into his taiyaki. "But I refuse to lose to her! She's mocking me; I can tell by the way she _looks_ at me, Ruka! She's mocking me! She thinks I'll cave!"

Ruka went to reply, but stopped short at the sound of an oddly familiar chuckle. Natsume's face paled, his hands balling into fists. "What do you want, commoner?" he asked, sounding relatively calm as he did so.

"Oh, nothing too much. I just wanted to thank you, really." She said, pulling out the chair between him and Ruka. She placed her lunch on the table as she sat down before she motioned for others to join her. "Anyway, yes. Thank you for following through earlier. When you opened your mouth earlier I thought I'd have to go buy Hotaru crab brains." She separated her chopsticks. "So, thanks Natsume-kun." She grinned.

Hotaru pulled up a seat beside her, Anna, Koko, Yuu and Nonoko tool up the remaining seats. "Hey Mikan-chan, I didn't know you and Natsume were friends. I thought he hated you."

Mikan feigned disbelief. "No way! We're tight, man. Practically siblings." She grinned over at Natsume, clearly scheming something as she began picking at her bento. "So I was talking to Akira this morning. He told me you guys were playing with the angels yesterday. I bet he kicked your ass, huh?"

Natsume stiffened. "How do you know Akira?" he demanded, turning on her at once. How would a commoner know the only heir to Sakura Co.? No one even knew there was an heir to Sakura Co., so how come she did? And how was she on such good terms with him that he'd call her early in the morning to report that he'd been with Natsume?

"We were childhood buddies, I guess." She stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "None of the others kids would talk to him. He was always by himself like a loner. I thought he must've been a snob or something at first, but it turned out that he was just to cool for us commoner kids to play with."

"That doesn't make sense." Hotaru said, opening her third can of crab brains. "Akira was an idiot and didn't know how to talk to people. He was scared that they'd use him for his money." She paused, eating some brains. "But you, being a bubbly fool, couldn't help but introduce yourself."

Mikan frowned. "Bubbly fool, huh?" she shrugged. "I was probably just after his money at first. Till I realized how awesome he was." Mikan grinned at Hotaru. Natsume noticed that something didn't seem to fit right between the two. It was like they were referring to completely different people, or that rolls had been reversed.

"You didn't even know who he was, idiot. You just saw a lonely little boy sitting by himself at the park every day watching the rest of us like a lost kitten searching for a home."

Mikan snorted. "Did not. He just didn't know how to interact with people because he had to pretend he didn't exist! It wasn't his fault the other kids wouldn't acknowledge him just because they thought he was some street kid with no parents! Just because he wasn't going to inherit some rich ass international company!" Mikan eyes were red, like she was about to cry.

Hotar's eyes softened silently and she paused with a spoon of crab brains halfway to her mouth. "You're right. It wasn't his fault the other kids were snobs. He didn't do anything to anybody, okay? Why don't we talk about something more cheerful?"

Mikan nodded, finishing off her bento. "I'm done. I've got to go study." She packed away her lunch box and got up, brushing herself off. "I'll see you next class." She said, waving before she disappeared through the cafeteria doors.

Natsume was very confused. Akira had a past like that? _I guess that's why he is like he is,_ Natsume thought, putting the puzzle pieces together. Akira had said outright that he hated snobs, although he hadn't used those words precisely. It must have been hard for him to grow up in a world where he's own parents pretended he didn't exist. Being brought up around snobby rich kids while pretending to be a nobody would have sucked.

"Who's Akira?" Yuu asked, breaking the silence. Natsume looked around then to find that everyone else at the table looked either remorseful or confused. Or both. Clearly they'd remembered times when they'd treated other commoners like trash as well.

Natsume was still doing that. "A friend." He said simply, getting back to his cooling lunch. He knew they were waiting for something more, but he couldn't say anything. He wasn't allowed to spill the beans about the Sakura's nonexistent heir; his father had sworn to disown him if he tried. He thought disowning him was a bit cruel, but Izumi and Ryou were childhood friends.

"So Mikan's not coming back?" Nonoko asked, pouting silently.

Hotaru shrugged. "It seems unlikely. She's probably reading through all of the books in the library – that should keep her occupied." Hotaru finished her last can of crab brains and then stood up wordlessly, leaving the table.

You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to tell that she was going to see Mikan. That was common knowledge, no matter how strange it seemed to see Hotaru _care_ about someone.

Natsume sighed and stood up, mentally declaring that he could skip the rest of the day and go home. Upon making this decision he called his father, wanting something to take his mind off things.

"Dad. I won't be going back to class, it's boring me." Natsume sighed. "I'll be arriving at the office shortly. So—,"

"Excellent!" Ryou crowed, his voice hinting at a huge idiotic grin. "You know what? Akira just got in, too. He wanted to take me out for lunch, but I'm preoccupied. Why don't you go along instead?"

Natsume frowned. "I just had lunch. And I don't think it's really appropriate for—,"

"Nonsense, Natsume." His father's voice had sobered. "This is a brilliant opportunity to get to know a future partner, or – possibly but I hope not – a future competitor. You'll go have lunch; you don't have to eat though. I'll send him the address so he can pick you up from your dorm." He's father then hung up.

Natsume dropped his phone in his pocket, mumbling about stupid commoners and paranoid businessman. When he got back to his door there were no students, just peacekeepers who knew better then to question him or report him for wagging.

By the time he'd had a shower and gotten dressed he heard a horn beeping outside. He didn't need to go to the window to know that would be Akira Sakura.


	5. Lunch

**Salutations :) How've you all been? I guess it's actually rather idiotic of me to ask a question none of you can really answer, eh? Thanks for all the reviews :D!! Sorry this chapter took a bit longer to finish then I'd hoped - I had a District sports carnival to attend, so a was sleeping all day yesterday to try and recover from severe sunburn, a massive headache and plain old exhaustion. AND GUESS WHAT? I get to do it all against next week on Wednesday ;D!!  
Awesome, right? WRONG D:!  
I'm not cut out for sport, honestly. I used to be, sure - But now I never train, all i do is read and write (_) i prefer relaxing now, anyway. *Sigh*...  
**

**Anyway, none of you care about any of that ;) here's chapter 5, a little bit of Mikan and Akira's pasts together :P I thinks it awesome (and hilarious) that you all instantly jumped to the conclusion that they were the same person. And then after that some of you back tracked and guess at siblings, or whatever. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, but I won't say your right, either. You'll find out sooner or later, eh? XD  
**

**HERE'S A HINT:  
_There's only one heir/heiress to Sakura Co._**

**I'll quit my rant now! Enjoy the chapter ^.^  
**

* * *

**5**

Natsume couldn't decide whether he was annoyed or extremely amused – a rare feat to find.

Akira had been so very welcoming, asking what music he liked. When Natsume said he wasn't particularly fond of unnecessary music, Akira had gasped audibly whilst twisting his face up into a mask of pure horror. Then he'd slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road, almost causing an accident, just so he could search through his CD compartment and put on his favorite CD.

It was in English, with Natsume had found odd. The _Beach Boys_ is what Akira had called them shortly before announcing that they were legendary. Then he'd continued to drive, turning his music up to 50% before hitting play.

And now, he was grinning like a fool in a car seat next to the biggest idiot he'd ever met while he sang along to some old song called 'Fun fun fun'. He felt ridiculously happy, completely unconcerned. Akira seemed completely unfazed by the odd looks people shot them at traffic lights, and that seemed to have rubbed off on Natsume.

Akira glanced over at him with an, 'I bet you've never done this before' sort of look, chuckling to himself when Natsume shook his head. Normally he'd have been irritated, but he couldn't be bothered to get mad while he was in a good mood.

It didn't take long for Akira to get them to wherever they were going, which to Natsume's surprise was a small coffee shop on the corner of the road just before the commoner's housing area.

"A coffee shop?" Natsume asked incredulously, staring blankly out the car window as Akira turned the keys. "It's tiny, and in the middle of nowhere." He added as Akira unbuckled himself and stepped out of the car. "You're serious about this?"

Akira stuck his head down through the top of the window. "Sure am. I love this little place. There's friendly staff, good food and it's not too busy." He grinned. "Cheap, too." He added as a last minute thought. "You can stay here, if you want. I told Hikaru's sister, Kitahoshima, that I was coming. She saved me a table. Call a cab if you want."

With that he turned and left, leaving Natsume to fumble with his seat belt and rush out after him. When he opened the door he found Akira whispering something to a waitress who seemed very, _very_ confused.

"Oh, so I should call Sakura-sama Akira when…" she trailed off, noticing that Natsume was standing in ear shot. "Hello, sir. Would you like to order now?" she asked with a sweet, innocent smile.

Akira slung an arm over Natsume's shoulder, pulling him closer. "Nah, he's with me. This is Natsume, my work buddy and my best friends class mate." He said, ruffling Natsume's hair. Natsume's eyebrow twitched and he saw Akira suppress what likely would have been hysterical laughter. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot – Nat, this is Kitahoshima, but you can call her Hoshi. She's Hikaru's little sis, two years older than us."

Natsume frowned at no one in particular. _Did he just give me a nickname?_ He thought, giving a short wave in Kitahoshima's general direction. He'd never been friendly with anyone outside of his immediate social group, and there were only 8 people in his social group – being the rest of the Special students, not including Sumire. He only tolerated her because of her family.

And in that group of friends, he'd only ever liked one of them, being Ruka. Ruka called him 'Nat' every now and then too, but he never thought much of it. That's why it felt odd, though, that someone he'd know for all, what? Maybe twelve hours, if that – yet he felt completely relaxed in Akira presence, and it felt totally natural for him to be called by a nickname.

"Hey, Nat – quit zoning out, dork. Come sit down and order something." Akira had moved off to the side of the store and was seated in a booth next to the window facing the street. "Or I guess you could just stand there looking like some mentally deprived retard." Akira grinned. "Wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, huh?"

Natsume grinned, shaking his head. He walked over to the table and took his seat, dismissing the thoughts he'd been having. It was easy to admit that he liked Akira in an odd way – he was just so different to what Natsume was used to that, at first, Natsume's had obviously been stand offish, perhaps even a little _scared_ of getting to know someone as rich as him who still acted like an idiot commoner.

"Who're you to call me a retard? And who said you could call me Nat?" he reached for the menu, watching Akira as he did so. He watched as he grinned and felt the oddest sense of familiarity. He'd definitely seen that grin before, and his laugh was awfully familiar too. "What should I call you? Aki? Kira?"

Akira shrugged. "Call me what you want, Nat. It doesn't matter to me." Akira waved over to Hoshi, signally that he was ready to order.

"Mikan, then." He said abruptly, surprising both of them. Akira turned to the name, as if instinctively, looking surprised and confused.

He just stared at Natsume, looking either horrified or completely dumbfounded – or both. He blinked and shook his head in a clearing motion. "What are you on about, Hyuuga? Why would you call me Mikan? I thought you hated her."

Natsume shrugged. "I do. A _lot_. She irritates the hell out of me, stupid little commoner girl." He growled, growing frustrated just by mentioning her name. "Your laugh is like hers, though." He realized, pursing his lips. "Aren't you two friends? How'd that happen, anyway? Your worlds should be completely different."

Akira shrugged, relaxing once more as Hoshi approached. He ordered several dishes; most of them sounded like cakes of deserts, and then Natsume ordered a few random dishes and a milkshake. Akira seemed to be in deep thought about Natsume's question, but he clearly intended to answer.

He sighed. "Mikan… well, she was a bit of an outcast, I guess." He said finally, staring off into the distance as he recalled events of the past. "When she was born she was… _different_, I suppose." **(A/N: I was thinking about this part for a while, but I think it fits in well. Anyone read Special A? Gotta' love that Kei ;))**

Natsume waited for him to continue, but when he didn't he asked, "Different? Different in what ways?" he quirked an eyebrow. "Let me guess – she was born with the super power to piss off anyone she encountered? I'm close, right?"

Akira didn't laugh; he just continued staring to nowhere. "Other kids have to learn things, you know – study, train, practice, whatever. They generally have to _try_. Mikan was born with a form of, uh… I think they call it a photographic memory, or something." He shrugged. "Anyway, in most cases that just counts for books and stuff. But for Mikan, it was different – she could walk almost as soon as soon as her muscles had developed. Basically, once she's seen, read or heard something, she'll never forget it, and she'll be able to repeat perfectly. Sometimes she ever perfects or adds on to things."

Akira's eyes grew even more distant as he got further into his story – he didn't seem to notice when Kitahoshima delivered their food. She didn't disturb him; she looked just as concerned as Natsume felt confused. He'd never have guessed Mikan for some sort of natural genius or anything. He thought she just study extremely hard and didn't have any sort of social life.

Akira continued. "On top of all of that, because she'd been running around longer than anyone else her age, her muscles were stronger and more flexible. So she jumps higher, tires slower and runs faster than the rest of us. So basically she was born to be better than everyone else. Once she reads through a text book she remembers every word. It's the same with other languages, too.

"And you know how kids are, right? Little skin bags of human emotions. Humans are naturally very jealous creatures. So she grew up isolated – none of the other kids wanted to know her, because they didn't like her always being better than them. Who would?" he sniffed, noticing the food. He continued, nevertheless.

"So because no one wanted to talk to her or get to know her from the area she was at, she used to change schools all the time, transferring all over the country while trying to keep her special talents hidden from everyone else. She wanted to be normal. She almost always got found out, though. Doing stupid things, being a show off. It's only natural for someone to try their hardest though, right?

"I met her in the park. She was on the swing all by herself – all of the other kids had moved to the other side of the play ground, away from her. I watched the whole thing, it was despicable. When I asked them why they didn't like her, why they wouldn't play with her, they all said similar things along the lines of 'She's not like us, she's weird and knows everything.' Or they'd comment on her so called snobiness.

"I believed them, and I steered clear of her, too." He looked at Natsume now, signally that he's story was coming to a close soon. "I was walking home one day and I saw a baby in a pram, and a little kid that looked about two, maybe three – they were near the edge of the path, near the riverside. I was ten at the time. I couldn't see the mum anywhere, though, so I kept walking by. I was about ten meters away from them when I heard the splash, followed by a scream.

"The kid had gotten to close and fallen into the river just as their mother was crossing the road to get them. The kid was getting washed downstream fast, and the mum had to take care of the baby first." He grimaced. "That's when Mikan showed up – I didn't even see her until she was dropping her school bag and ripping off her jacket and shoes. She jumped in over the rocks and grabbed the kid, but she was my age – only ten.

"She may be superior in strength and intelligence to average kids, but even an adult would have struggled to keep themselves afloat in those currents, even without a scared toddler clinging to their head. She couldn't get out of the river because of the rocks, so she just kept floating down stream. I ran after her on impulse, and because I thought she'd die. I caught up to her and snatched some guys fishing pole on the way.

"After she was out of the water she started asking if I had a phone, but I didn't at the time. So she ran out on the road like a total imbecile – only because there was no one else around – and almost got hit by a car. It stopped, though, and they had a phone. She wanted to call an ambulance, because she was worried about the kid." Akira shook his head in what speared to be disgust.

"After she dropped all her stuff and almost drowned herself to get the kid out of the water, then nearly got herself flattened on the road to call an ambulance, when the mother got there, you know what she did?" he raised an eyebrow, but didn't give him time to answer. "She slapped Mikan across the face – Mikan was shivering at the time, I had the baby because I was dry – and she kept slapping her until she fell over, her cheeks were bleeding from the bitches nails.

"She said it was all Mikan's fault that her baby fell into the water, that she should have been the one going to hospital. Then she told Mikan to leave. And she did. She just stood, bleeding and shivering with almost blue skin, apologized, and walked away." Akira fell silent. He looked like he might cry if he tried to speak again.

Natsume was horrified – no, he was completely and utterly disgusted with the women. If he knew he she was he'd hire someone to throw her into a river and slap her until she bled. That's why he hated commoner – they always blame their mistakes on the people around them. But he was too preoccupied with the story to voice his anger. "What happened to her after that?" he asked in a voice that was almost a whisper. He noticed that Hoshi was watching them with a sad expression.

Akira skulled half a glass of whatever he'd ordered and ate a few bites of a strawberry cake before he continued. "I waited until the ambulance got there for the baby, because the mother was taking care of the crying baby. When I got rid of the kid I took off after her. It wasn't hard to track her down – she was soaked, after all. Not to mention she was bleeding a lot worse then I'd thought.

"I found her lying behind some bushes just a bit further along from where she'd dumped her bags. All of her stuff was gone, stolen by someone. She was curled up in a ball, but she wasn't crying. She knew I was there, but she didn't look up. I asked something like 'are you okay?' and she looked up at me and smiled the brightest smile I'd ever seen." Natsume knew the smile he was talking about, but when he pictured it he became slightly annoyed due to previous experiences.

"She kept looking at me, still with that big bright smile, still bleeding and shivering, and said in a cocky sarcastic voice something like 'Don't ask stupid questions, baka. Do I look okay to you?' she smirked and tried to stand up, but she couldn't do it. I called my parents from a shop across the road they came to pick us up. We took her to the hospital, but we couldn't contact my parents. It was alright though, because she stayed with me…" Akira trailed off, not seeming to notice that he'd changed he's position in the story – it sounded like he was talking as Mikan now.

"So yeah, that's how I met the idiot." He concluded, digging into the rest of his cakes while Natsume sat and poked at he's meal with a vicious glare

He wanted to find that ungrateful women and beat her senseless. He also felt like patting Mikan on the back, but he knew that if he did that she'd probably just mock him or make it into a joke. He didn't know if he'd be able to hate her anymore, though. Who could hate someone who suffered that sort of experience? A monster, maybe. Some heartless fiend.

He was busy thinking about how to face Mikan again and didn't notice Akira had finished eating and was watching him with cautious eyes. "Don't treat her any differently, please. Act like you don't know anything, alright? And don't tell anyone about her memory thing, I don't want her to move out of the country again – she hasn't been back in Japan since she transferred out of her elementary school in third grade. The Australian's were a little more carefree then the Japanese."

Natsume nodded his agreement and finished his food, not really tasting anything. "I thought she was just a commoner." Natsume said at last, leaning back into his chair. "She doesn't act traumatized or intelligent or brave, she just mindlessly taunts me, like she wants me to hate her." Natsume brow furrowed. "I think she's testing me, but I don't know why."

Akira burst out laughing, instantly breaking the tension. "That's probably exactly what she's doing, you know, testing your patience. She likes to pick out the people she finds most worthy – usually bullies or popular people – and then she taunts them until they break. If they don't break by the time she gets bored of her little game, she befriends them. If they break she usually just ignores them. She hates weak willed people who act tough, a feeling we both share."

Natsume glared at his dirty fork. "I guess that's supposed to mean she thinks I'm a _bully_? Pfft." He muttered some incoherent things under his breath, leaning against his hand. "That irks me."

Akira waved his hands in front of him in a gesture that he was wrong or something along those lines. "No, no, you're misunderstanding." He said, trying to amend. "I guess I explained wrong – she attacks the strong. That means she regards you with respect and sees you as someone worth taunting. If she thought you were a bully she'd just completely destroy your reputation and make people see you as the lowest scum."

Natsume jumped when Akira's phone went off, but he smirked when he recognized one of the beach boy's songs –_ 'Good Vibrations'_ he believed it was called.

"Alright, I'll be there soon. Yep. Yep. No. Touch my cookies and I swear I will mangle you beyond recognition." He's eyes narrowed. "No – there's ice cream in the freezer, eat that moron." She listened, then chucked. "Yeah I love you two mum. Yeah. Okay, see you when I get home. Bye. I said _bye_." He hung up while his mother's voice was still coming through the speakers. "I've gotta' get home quick – dad made cookies and mums going to eat them."

Natsume stared at him in disbelief, completely amazed by the serious expression Akira had on his face. He'd never seen the bubbly boy before him look any sort of serious – yet there he was, hard faced and rushing just because he wanted some cookies.

Natsume felt laughter bubbling in his chest and soon after it was echoing through the coffee shop. "You're hilarious, Sakura!" he choked out, following him out the door. "All over cookies." He added, slipping into the car.

In the day's events, he leaned that he'd made a friend whose company he enjoyed, and gained a new respect for an enemy.

It was still the first week of he's last year of high school.

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**Pshh - I'd tackle my mum if she tried to steal my damn cookie's, too. **


	6. Meet Mikan Sakura

**Well, it would appear that after giving that little hint, half of you are almost there, and a certain individual has completely figured it out :S I should've kept quiet, huh? Sheesh, you guys are good at working things out XD **

**Well, this is (obviously?) chapter 6 :) I hope you like it ^.^ enjoy ;)  
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****6**

Natsume sat in class, watching his classmates chat amongst each other while he tried to ignore Sumire's babbling high pitched voice. She was trying to spread rumors about the commoner again, obviously. She clearly hadn't worked out that Natsume was the one who kept obliterating those rumors before they spread. Despite the fact that Sumire was ranked 7th in the testing's and was in the Special class, she was an idiot.

It'd been a week since he went to lunch with Akira and learnt about the commoner, and now that he knew what to look for, he started noticing that everything she did actually was perfect. She seemed to be holding herself back a great deal though, which irked him to the point that he'd switched seats with some kid on the other side of the room.

He watched her smile and laugh when others were looking, back every now and then she'd let her guard down. The expression she wore in those rare moments was a mix of exhaustion, sorrow and anticipation. He wanted to know what she was anticipating, but he refused to ask. She'd been ignoring him lately, which, according to Akira, meant she'd either grown tired of playing around with him or she'd decided he was no longer worthy of her attention.

The latter seemed unlikely, because he hadn't cracked yet, and he didn't plan to. He wanted to try and have an actual conversation with her, simply because he was curious, but he could never find a moment where she _wasn't_ surrounded by people. He almost laughed when he thought about when she'd first appeared – how he and everyone had naturally assumed she'd never fit in and make any friends.

So much for that theory.

He found her now as he opened the class room door. He'd finished his lunch early and was looking for a way out of gym class – the girls always tried to watch him and Ruka get changed into his gym clothes for PE.

When he stepped into the classroom he found Mikan sitting on the windowsill with a packed lunch. She looked up when he entered and gave a small wave of greetings, but her mouth was full so all she could do was mumble around her rice.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Natsume chided, smirking when she frowned. She clearly wanted to retort with some snide remark, but she had to swallow before she could. "I'm not look for a fight, Nendo." Natsume clarified, pulling up a chair beside her and crossing his legs on the desk, the way Akira had when they'd first met.

She swallowed and watched him cautiously, like she didn't believe him. "What would a rich and powerful business heir like yourself want with a dirty little commoner like myself?" she asked innocently, trying not to emphasize to extreme sarcasm in her question.

Natsume shrugged. "I don't want anything. I'm just sick of listening to Sumire. Every time she opens her mouth she wastes enough oxygen to suffocate a small country."

She chuckled, picking at what was left of her lunch. "So a temporary truce then?" she asked, scooping the rest of her rice into her mouth. "Sounds interesting. I'm not sure how to talk to you without using insults."

"Clearly." Natsume lifted an eyebrow, but he wasn't annoyed. She actually seemed to be _trying_ to be nice to him. Which was odd. "If Akira can put up with you for several years, I don't see why I can't handle half an hour or so."

She remained nodded her agreement. "Yeah, I don't know why he puts up with my crap, either. Someone like me isn't meant to have a great friend like her."

"Her?" Natsume frowned. "There's no way someone as boyish and loud as Akira is female."

Mikan seemed slightly panicked for just a moment. "I meant 'him', sorry. I'm just distracted. I keep expecting one of those kids out there to fallout of that tree to their doom." She pointed to a large pine tree that was growing near the sports field. There were several elementary students climbing up. "Is there something you need? Because if there's not I think I'll go tell someone to get them out of the tree before they do fall."

Natsume didn't want her to retreat just yet, she looked to uncomfortable, and he loved it. Any other time she acted either totally cool and composed, or like a hyperactive loud mouth, but usually she was somewhere in between. "I spoke with Akira about you a little while back, he told me about how you two met. It was an interesting story."

He watched as she turned to him with clouded eyes. She was either sending him a warning or preparing to jump out of that second-storey window. "Yeah. Personally I think Akira talks a little too much." She said in a guarded tone. She was definitely warning him not to pry.

He continued, nevertheless. "Maybe, but I was… impressed, I suppose. I don't think I'd have jumped into a river after some kid I didn't even know, and I know for sure I wouldn't walk away quietly if the mother was that ungrateful." He frowned, not noticing that he face was changing slightly with each word. "Not to mention how strong willed you'd have to be to grow up with such a useful talent and still be hated by everyone your age. I couldn't –,"

"No," she snapped, sliding off the window sill. "Just shut up, Hyuuga. Akira's a loud mouth and an idiot for bothering to tell anyone. He'll get his, but I suggest that you shut up and stay quiet – I'm sure you remember how I remember everything? Have you ever sat and watched the martial arts channel for hours on end, just because you wanted to learn something new? I haven't tested it out in a while, why don't we try it now?"

Natsume stared at her completely dumbfounded. "I wasn't going to tell anybody, I was just curious. Calm down a bit, Nendo."

And she did. She calmed down a lot, apparently. Natsume shuddered, regretting his words. She was _too_ calm now. "Just stay away from me, Hyuuga. I'm not someone to be toyed with – I'll beat you into silence if I have to, I don't care how rich you are."

"What the hell is your problem?" he snapped back, standing up as she walked out the door.

"Just _stay away from me_." She muttered, slamming the door shut.

Natsume went to open the door, but jumped back when it swung open from the other side, nearly hitting him. Hotaru stood on the other side, blocking the way out. "We need to talk, Hyuuga."

--

Even though Hotaru had told Natsume they needed to talk, she'd been quick to point out that school wasn't a good place to talk at all.

So she'd dragged him into her car and driven him to some place out of the edge of town hidden by trees. From the road all you could see were the massive iron gates, and through the bars you could see a winding driveway and yards of flowers.

On the way up the driveway Natsume spotted a lake and a bunch of different animals. Off in the distance, about two hundred meters away from the road, he could see a small house, just big enough for one person.

Hotaru sped right past it, however, and beyond some more trees and gardens a huge mansion came into view. Off to the left side he could see a helicopter pad, while on the right side there was a swimming pool and a spa. There was a roundabout at the end of the road, and in the middle there were two large Sakura trees and one smaller one. There were photo's or something pinned to them.

Just when he was about to ask who owned the huge property, he saw 'Sakura' carved into the stone above the doorway. They were at Akira's house – but why? And why would the Sakura's want to live so far away from the rest of Tokyo? They had businesses to manage, after all.

"Quit gawking. Get up and out, Izumi and Yuka are expecting us." Hotaru had parked outside the door and had already turned off the car. She was a lot more impatient with him then she had been with Mikan.

Natsume followed her to the door, which was opened by a woman wearing faded jeans and a white tank top. She had her hair tied back and was holding a broom. "Oh, hello Miss Imai. I'm sorry, I forgot you were coming. Izumi and Yuka are probably in the dining room."

Hotaru nodded and grabbed Natsume by the upper arm, dragging him into the house and past the woman with a broom. She smiled and waved to him. Natsume blinked in confusion. "Was that a maid?" he asked, incredulously. "She's wearing casual clothes and addressing the Sakura's by their first names."

Hotaru huffed. "These people aren't like you, Hyuuga. Shut up for a while, could you? If I don't concentrate we could get lost."

In a house as big as this one getting lost was all too possible, although it sounded ridiculous. There was the occasional maid or butler walking by with washing or a broom, but they all looked like they were just residents of the house. _No wonder Akira's so laid back with his employee's_. Natsume thought, half smiling when he saw two maids giggling with each other.

"Alright, we're here." She pushed open a door and walked through. Seated at the table was Izumi Sakura – Natsume recognized him from previous business meetings – and who could obviously only be Yuka Sakura, his wife and Akira's mother. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuka, Izumi. He was with Mikan when I found him, so I had to wait until she was gone."

"What's this got to do with Mikan?" he asked, trying to frown in front of superiors. "And why are we at the Sakura Mansion? I thought you said we needed to talk."

"We do." Izumi said, motioning that Natsume should take a seat. He did so. "You look hungry, Hotaru. Help yourself to the crab brains – they're at the bottom of the freezer." Izumi waved her off.

When Hotaru had left and the door was closed, Yuka and Izumi turned to him with curious expressions. Yuka was playing with something hairy and chestnut colored, leaning her chin in her hand on the table. They were both wearing pajama's. They didn't look or act like the richest couple in Japan at all – they looked and acted like, well… commoners.

"How much do you know about little Mi-chan, Mr. Hyuuga?" yuka asked suddenly, beginning the conversation. "I assume Akira told you a few things, yes?" she added as a tail on thought.

He nodded, although he still couldn't see what Mikan had to do with him being in Akira's house, speaking with both his parents. Yuka Sakura was rarely out in public, she preferred to work on her designs at home in private. No one knew who her models were, but they were all extremely beautiful.

"So, how much do you know?" she asked again, smiling sweetly.

"Akira just told me about how he met her, and then about her photographic memory." He said.

"Hmm…" Izumi scratched his chin and sighed. "Have you told anyone else about this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Natsume found it strange they were both acting so strange and doing everything slowly, like they were both completely exhausted. "That would be troublesome."

Natsume shook his head quickly. "No. No, I haven't told anyone. Why? Who would I tell?"

Yuka shrugged. "Anyone, I suppose. Your mum or dad, a friend, you know – most kids talk to people, you know, they socialize." She seemed to be asking pointless questions while she watched how he reacted to each and everyone one of them.

They were testing him.

Natsume frowned, growing impatient. "May I ask what me being here has to do with Mikan Nendo?" he asked, finally voicing his question. "I understand her and Akira are good friends, but what's that got to do with me?

Yuka and Izumi, who had both been listening half heartedly and fiddling with different things, turned to him with blank looks on their faces. "Nendo? You mean you didn't…?" izumi trailed off, turning to Yuka with a horrified look in his eyes.

"Quick – let's get him home. Before—," Yuka started, but she was cut short when the door Hotaru had left through swung open.

"Mum?" a girl with long brown hair wearing loose gray sweat pants and a white singlet with a black jacket thrown on top slid through the door, looking concerned. "I came home early again. I already know today's…" she trailed off when her eyes came across Natsume. "Hyuuga?" she choked out incredulously, stumbling back a step.

Natsume stared back, just as incredulous as she was. "Mikan?"


	7. If u have a name for this chap tell me

**Wow, thanks again for all of the reviews – and to answer a few questions, YES. Yes, I love writing cliff hangers, although I hate it **_**reading**_** them. Hehe. So I figure if you end the chapter in anticipation people generally read the next chapter out of wonder (^_^)/**

**Sorry this chapter took a little while to update. An idea came and whacked me in the face when I was in the middle of this chapter during Monday, so I sort of got distracted writing another fic. I think I'll post it after a finish this one, which probably won't be for a while. But updated will be slower in the next two weeks – I was just given an English essay, a math test and an Ancient History assignment. I already did my Visual art test though, so that's one down!**

**LOL you'll hate this chapters end then XD Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews and I'm glad you guys have enjoyed the story so far, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Enjoy :)**

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****7**

Mikan was now seated next to her mother, directly across from Natsume, who refused to so much as blink. It'd been an hour since he she walked through that door, and they'd been explaining ever since then.

"Okay," he said at last, causing them all to turn back to him. He'd been silent ever since Izumi stopped talking, and Mikan had been silent ever since she'd uttered his name. She was definitely the most surprised by everything that had happened.

"So Mikan Nendo is really Mikan Sakura and she's your daughter, the soul heiress to Sakura Co. Akira Sakura is a nonexistent person who was played by Mikan in male clothes and a wig." Saying it out loud made him feel slightly better. "Mikan had to pretend she was a commoner because you guys didn't want her to be raised in the spot light, you wanted her to have a normal life. And she pretended to be a guy because she knew that I'd recognize her if she didn't." he finished, huffing. "I'm still very confused." He admitted, glaring up from the table back to Mikan, who visibly cringed away.

"You're just an innocent bystander who accidentally got sucked into my personal affairs." Mikan muttered, shaking her head. She slapped her mother on the back of her head, her eye brow twitching. "You idiots thought I'd exposed myself, so instead of asking me about it, you had Hotaru drag him here and managed to screw everything up. I can't believe you! Irresponsible parents! How have you managed to keep Sakura Co. running all these years!? The parents are supposed to set the example for the child! I can't be chasing up your mistakes in all my free time, damn it."

Natsume shrank back in his seat slightly. Even though she wasn't yelling at him, she was somewhat scary with that murderous glint to her eye. When he looked at Yuka and Izumi they looked sheepish, like they actually _had_ just been chided by a parent, and they knew it would happen again. _What a strange family…_ he thought mildly.

Mikan sat back down in her chair and took several deep breathes before she looked up and began speaking again, this time a lot calmer. "Alright. Everything's fine, so it's alright." Her bottom lip jutted out ever so slightly in the tiniest of pouts, almost unnoticeable. "You ruined my game, mum. It was fun to be two different people at once – you should see the difference in how he treated me as a commoner compared to how he treated me as someone richer then he is." She sighed, leaning against her arm. "I suppose I should transfer again then, huh?"

"Why?" Natsume asked, sticking his head back into the conversation. "Are you going to leave because I found out?"

"No, she's not." The door swung open and Hotaru stepped through, looking somewhat annoyed. "Damn you nose-drip girl, you're not leaving again." She snapped, tossing an empty jar at Mikan, who narrowly evaded its destructive path. "You've only been back for a week." She added, and then, more quietly, she added, "And I missed you."

Natsume half choked on the air in his throat at the sound of Hotaru _admitting_ that she actually cared enough about someone to miss them while they were gone. When he looked up he noticed Hotaru was staring at Mikan with the expression of a mother hearing that her son was going back to the war with two broken legs. Completely devastated.

When he glanced back over at Mikan he noticed that she looked about ready to hurl herself across the room, but knew that if she did she'd never escape again. "What am I supposed to do, then? It's not so bad, you know, moving around almost every year." She shrugged. "I could go back to Australia. The people there are pretty laid back. It's just till' I graduate, anyway. No big—,"

"No." Yuka spoke up with a stern voice and a matching face. "You never even come back for holidays, Mikan. You're not leaving the country again."

Mikan narrowed her eyes. "I'll stay in the country then. I'll stay in Tokyo. I'll stay at Gakuen Alice. Obviously I don't have much of a voice." She turned her head slowly, until her glare was drilling into Natsume. "So we have to silence you." She murmured, her lips curling upwards in a malicious smile.

"Silence me?" he repeated, almost jumping out of his chair when Hotaru appeared behind him, trapping him between Mikan and her. "In what way, exactly?" There was something extremely uncomfortable about being caught between two girls who clearly didn't care much about his well being.

"The principle is my uncle." Mikan said, smiling sweetly. The intense evil atmosphere dispersed with that smile. "You could drop out, I guess. Or I could get uncle to kick you out. Hmm…" she trailed off, thinking deeply.

Natsume frowned. "What makes you think I'm leaving?" he snapped, displeased with her neutral threat. "It's your problem. If you're stupid enough to think I'd risk my future business by pissing off the Sakura family you don't belong at Gakuen Alice." He stated, glaring daggers. Why the hell should he have to leave because of hers and her parents stupid mistakes? Like hell.

Mikan looked at him for a moment, then smirked ever so slightly. "Alright, then you can leave. If you're not going to tell anyone about me not being a commoner or my past, or anything about the Sakura family, then we can go about life the way we have been." She smiled, knowing very well that she'd just spoiled at least one of his plans for revenge.

"Why pretend to be a commoner on a scholarship when you could gain so much more respect by revealing you're not?" he asked, grumbling incoherent things under his breath. He'd been looking forward to crushing Sumire with the news of her rival being more powerful in the business world then she ever would be.

"Because I grew up acting like a commoner, Hyuuga. And I did get into the school on a scholarship, I thought it'd make me feel smarter to not buy my way into an education. I earned it instead." She shrugged. "Someone like you wouldn't understand." She concluded.

"Someone like me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Someone like you. Someone who grew up in a big fancy house being waited on hand and foot 24/7. When you want something you get it, and you've never had to labor for yourself either, I bet." She raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Or am I off in my assumption?"

"No." he said, standing. Of course he'd never lived like a commoner, why would he? Who the hell in their right mind would _want_ to pretend they weren't extremely wealthy? Mikan was obviously just missing something upstairs. "I'm leaving now. Good bye." He walked out the door, leaving the room. He half expected someone to stop him and was glad to find that he wasn't attacked by Hotaru's deadly baka gun.

--

Natsume had _walked_ into town after leaving the Sakura place, because he'd been too stubborn to go ask for a lift and he didn't know where he was so he couldn't call for a car. The instant he'd found a street sign he'd called though, so he only had to walk for half an hour or so. No biggy.

Now he was in his dorm room at the academy, sitting cross legged in the middle of his room on the floor, glaring at the door like he could burn holes through it.

_Who does she think she is!?_ He kept repeating the question over and over in his brain, trying to find a way around it without noting that she was Mikan Sakura, the sole heiress to one of the biggest international companies in the world.

But just because her family was more powerful than his didn't mean she could treat him like he was inferior! He knew all of her secrets, for #$% sakes! Yet the bitch still acted completely indifferent to him, like he was just another toy she could toss aside when she got bored. In fact, that exactly how she must have seen him, and she must have done it to many others before him, too.

What gave her the right to pretend to be someone she's not just for her own amusement!?

Natsume sighed for the umpteenth time in half an hour, falling backwards onto the soft carpet so he was facing the roof. He realized then that he was on the floor. On the floor like a _commoner_ is how he'd have phrased it before, but now he couldn't seem to use the word properly, because it brought up more problematic questions.

Like for starters, how the hell was he supposed to treat Sakura the same way as he had before!? Jesus! If he's parents knew they'd disown him! But he had to do it – she'd made it very clear – in an sort of unclear way – that if he said anything about her to anyone she'd have him out of the school immediately. And he knew she could do it, because he knew for a fact that Izumi's older brother owned Gakuen Alice.

"Damn that pretend commoner women! Damn her!" he shouted, not bothering to think about what Ruka, who was next door in his room, would think. That is until he realized that he'd said 'commoner women' which anyone who knew Natsume would assume was Mikan, and he'd referred to her as 'pretend'. What if she just spilled the beans?

He's face paled. He'd definitely be disowned if he got kicked out of school.

And it was all Sakura's fault. He closed his eyes, contemplating.

--

Mikan pulled up outside of the large house-like building, knowing very well that she looked absolutely nothing like a commoner. She was in a red Telsa Roadster, for starters. She was wearing a pair of white Levis jean Capri's with a black belt and a light blue halter top and a black jacket over the top that only covered her ribs up.

Next? She was lugging around a Chanel black handbag with a small white bow and a pair of white framed rose tinted Prada sunglasses and Manalo white strap up heels. **(A/N: Hey, I like had to research those stupid brands . I'm so bad with fashion, I usually just go to Target or Supre…)** Of course, the only reason she bothered risking it is because she didn't plan to act a thing like Mikan Nendo.

She strutted up to the front door and rung the bell, quickly applying a thin layer of clear lip gloss to her already luscious pink lips before a blonde boy with blue eyes answered the door. He blinked, momentarily taken aback, and then he shook his head as if to clear it. Mikan smirked. "Can I h-help you?" he asked, blushing beet red.

"You could." Mikan said, trying not to laugh. _Poor, innocent little Ruka…_ she thought, taking a breath to calm herself before she continued. "You could let me in – I want to surprise a grumpy friend of mine." She shifted slightly, making it look like she was uncomfortable standing there. She'd seen hundred of movies and she remembered every single move any ordinary skank made on every single one of them.

Sure, she could kick his ass and walk right in, but she didn't want to hurt Ruka, he'd done nothing wrong. In fact, he was cute – why mess up such a pretty face?

"Uh, yeah sure I guess." He stepped aside, motioning with his arm that she could enter. She did, smiling when she passed him. "Who is it you wanted to see?" he asked as an afterthought.

She watched him and he blushed a little more. _So, so innocent! Poor guy!_ She chided herself mentally. Mikan was no slut, she'd never even kissed a guy. She just liked mucking around and pretending to have a normal personality. People called her a try hard when she acted the way she naturally acted, being good at everything and nice to almost everyone. So she just didn't do it anymore – she found people were more comfortable around someone they thought they could understand. Idiots.

"Natsume Hyuuga, actually." She bit her bottom lip. "But…umm… I don't really know where his room is… do you think you could show me? Please?" she asked sweetly, smirking when he swallowed and nodded, like he couldn't actually talk.

She felt extremely guilty for deceiving him and playing around with him like she was, but that didn't change the fact that she was enjoying herself immensely. She wasn't even sure if Natsume would know who she was, which made her muffle a delighted giggle.

Natsume was definitely the one with the best reactions. By that she referred to all of the other schools she'd attended and the arrogant boys or bimbo girls she'd selected to be her entertainment – Natsume was certainly the most entertaining of them all.

Ruka pointed to the door. "That's it. Tell me if you need anything, I'm right next door—," he was cut off by a noise from the other side of the door.

"Damn that pretend commoner women! Damn her!" Natsume's voice was dulled but still loud and clear to them. Mikan started laughing silently while Ruka reached for the door. She grabbed his arm though, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him." She smiled slyly before she silently opened the door and slid in, noticing that his eyes were closed and he hadn't noticed her. Taking advantage of the situation, she quickly dashed across the room and hid herself amongst he's messy covers and his… _eight pillows? What the hell?_ She thought, frowning as she made herself invisible.

Natsume remained completely oblivious to her presence.

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**XD! told you you'd hate the ending, right? Yeah, I think I'd be pretty pissed if someone did that to me, too. Don't hold grudes, kai -.^? Thanks ^.^ And while you're reading this i suggest you press the pretty little green button there. yay :)**


	8. Declarations

**Thanks for all the reviews guys, i really appreciate the support :) At the end of this chapter I put a short preview of the next story I'll be writing, although it won't be posted until after i finish this one, which won't be for a while - I've still got lots of plans ^.^**

**Okay! Here's chapter 8!**

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**8**

Natsume sat up and crossed his legs, frowning the entire time. He could've sworn he heard something just now… "Ruka?" he question cautiously, feeling rather paranoid. "Yep. Yep, I'm going insane. She finally cracked me." He chuckled after that, shaking his head. "And now I'm talking to myself. Wonderful."

Natsume kept scanning the room until his eyes came across the Angelic Layer that he and Akira – _no_, he thought, stopping himself. "Not Akira, Mikan." He told himself firmly. "Akira doesn't exist." He clarified, standing up and walking over to the doll and the layer. "I called you Flame or something right? And you move when I tell you to. Does that make me superior to you?"

He sighed. "I envy you, little doll." He said matter-of-factly, picking Flame up in his hand. "Even though you're small and don't have a mind of your own, your life is simple and you don't have to concentrate on getting along well with people you don't like. Me? I don't really get bossed around by anyone, except my parents, but I still don't have any freedom.

"My entire life was played out before I was even born. Do you know how bad that sucks? The only reason I could get through 17 years of this crap is because I assumed that everyone else as rich as me was in the same position. But I met this girl who even richer then I am, yet she's completely free to do whatever she wants. First she was an annoying commoner that was too smart for her own damn good, and then she was a rich boy who made a cool doll, and now she's a rich girl who seems to be perfect and good at everything."

He held the doll up in front of his face, examining it. "I think it's unfair, but I also know that she went through more than I did. But for some reason I still don't like her. Whenever I'm near how I get all hot and feel like lunging at her. It's not normal!" he snapped, rubbing his temples. "She's little driven me insane this time, you know. I'm talking to a doll. _A doll_. I shouldn't even have a doll, damn it."

He sighed then, falling back onto the floor of his room the way he had before, his cheeks slightly red. "Talking to a doll is nothing, though. My mind is playing horrible tricks on me these days." He continued staring at the ceiling, despite the fact that he could feel a presence. He assumed Ruka must have been silently checking up on him again, the way he always did.

"I get this feeling that I'm lying to myself. Like I don't really hate this girl, actually the opposite. I want to see her instead of avoiding her like I used to. In glass I tell myself I'm trying to glare holes through her head, when in reality I'm just waiting for her to turn around so I can see that face that threw me into madness and dragged me out of a clean, scheduled life." He felt a huge relief wash through him, and he realized his mindless rambling made perfect sense but was drawing in on a scary conclusion.

"When I'm around her my heart feels like it'll explode. I wrote that down as anger – you know, stress making my blood pump faster or something like that. I'm always complaining about her to Ruka, but if I changed my tone slightly it'd seem like I was… bragging? No, admiring is a better word. I try so hard to hate her, but I know I don't. Hmm… I wonder if she knows that? I doubt it.

"I guess…" he trailed off, his eyes snapping open as the words he thought were made audible: "I like her." He muttered, but that didn't feel right. "No. I love her. I love Mikan Sakura." He rested his chin on his hand, staring out the window. "Did you hear that Ruka? I love the commoner. Strange, isn't it?" There was no reply, so he turned around. "Ruka? Hey speak up Ru…" he trailed off his eyes widening.

Mikan was sitting on the edge of his bed dressed like a supermodel. She had her sunglasses pushed back on her head, keeping her hair back. A few strands were loose, giving her a casual air. Her eyes stared at him with an odd intensity, like she was extremely mad at him.

"I'm sorry." She said clearly, standing up with her bag in hand. "I shouldn't have played around with you." She smiled a small, sad smile. "And to think, I thought you might have been different. Oh well, too bad, huh? I'll stay away from you now, so you can relax." She grinned her usual grin, but it didn't each those ice cold brown spheres.

She was standing there, staring at him and speaking they way she always did with that same mischievous grin. She was there, but her presence was so far away, like she'd crawled into a secluded cabin and locked the world out. "M…Mikan?" he asked incredulously, still sitting on the ground holding Flame. "When did… when did you come here?"

Mikan shrugged. "Who cares? I just came to strike an understanding, anyway. My resolve hasn't changed, except now I guess I'll have to find someone else to annoy, huh? I'm going to stay at Gakuen Alice, and my parents are going to hold a press conference this afternoon to make me publicly known, so you can say what you want to who you want, it doesn't concern me in the least. Good bye now, Natsume. I look forward to doing business with you in the future."

She started walking towards the door. "Hey, wait!" he called out impulsively without a cause. She turned to him with a cold, indifferent expression: the way one might look at a stranger on the street, or an annoying bug that you were about to crush under your shoe. That desolate glare stole away his words while her eyes seemed to see straight though him, like he was an utterly insignificant speck of dust that had drifted into her gaze.

"Bye." She said conclusively, closing the door behind her. Natsume watched her through the window, strolling down the path like nothing had happened, and he watched as she got into her car and drove away.

--

Ruka watched as the supermodel girl slid through the open front door and disappeared behind it when it closed. Then he heard the engine to her car start and her speeding away.

He'd been utterly shocked when he saw her expression after leaving Natsume's room. She'd gone from bubbly and flirty to… well, to nothing. There was no emotion. She'd completely ignored him when he tried to speak to her, like his voice was nothing but a distracting breeze.

Ruka wondered if Natsume had done something to her that could have wiped away all of that happiness and decided he'd better check to see if his best friend was all right. What if she'd been the one to crush him, and she'd just felt guilty?

It didn't seem likely that Natsume would be hurt by a woman. But then again, Ruka hadn't even been aware of the fact that Natsume even had a woman. When did he stop telling him things? Pfft. When did he _start_ telling him things? Natsume didn't communicate with anybody, really, but they were still best friend. If he'd tell anyone, he'd tell Ruka.

Ruka knocked on his door, mildly concerned to find it half open. "Natsume? What happened?" he pushed the door the rest of the way open to find Natsume using the wall to support himself as he stared out the window. "Nat? Are you okay?"

Natsume turned around slowly and sat down on the spot, leaning back against the wall. Ruka almost gasped at the hurt expression on Natsume's face. Or was he confused? No, Natsume was only ever confused by Nendo, the commoner. Ruka thought Mikan was pretty cool – she didn't care about what all of the other rich kids said because she was too busy having a good time with everything.

"Shit, Ruka." He muttered, staring at the doll. "How did she get in here? Did you let her in? Why didn't you tell me?" Ruka found it odd that Natsume wasn't angry and yelling, but speaking slowly as if he might confuse his words and say the wrong thing. "She heard me. Shit, Ruka. Holy fucking shit."

Ruka was startled to her him swear in such a quiet voice. "Who was she? I didn't know who she was; she just said she was your friend and that she wanted to surprise you." He said quickly, rushing across the room to collect his best friend. "You're on the ground Natsume, get up and sit on your bed. Come on. I'll turn the TV on and you can tell me what happened, okay?"

Natsume nodded distantly, allowing Ruka to guide him into a sitting position on his bed. Natsume then went into details, explaining everything about Akira Sakura and Mikan Nendo, about Angelic Layer and about Mikan's past. And then finally, two hours later in late afternoon he finished off by telling him about how he'd found out that Mikan and Akira were the same person and that Hotaru had been Mikan's only friend, not Akira. He didn't leave out the part about her memory, he didn't leave out anything.

They sat in stunned silence for a moment until Natsume continued on and repeated his earlier monologue of where he'd accidently confessed his love that he'd only just become aware of. It didn't seem fair, he thought, that she should find out about his feelings at the same moment he did.

"Shit, Natsume." Ruka muttered, now in the same dazed as Natsume. "And she said that it'll be on a 6, right? That's when we all watch the business channel, everyone will see It." he murmured, subconsciously changing the channel over. As the TV program started.

"Huh. Look, she's wearing the same clothes." Natsume said, watching the TV.

All across campus students and teachers alike were watching as the scholarship student stood on stage next to Ruka Sakura while Izumi Sakura announced that he had exciting new News for everyone.

_**Izumi cleared his throat before he began speaking into a chatty crowd and over 100 different cameras'. "I and my wife, Yuka Sakura, would like to announce that the Sakura Corporation has an heir." He announced. The chatting crowds fell completely silent at this news until someone called out for a repeat of his words. "Yes, it's true. We have a daughter."**_

_**Yuka and Mikan walked forward, drawing attention to themselves. "You already know Yuka, my wife, although she doesn't go out in public often. And this is my daughter, Mikan Sakura. She's turning seventeen this year and will inherit the company when she feels she's ready. She's willing to answer any question you have to ask."**_

_**He stepped aside, allowing Mikan to step up to the podium. "Hello." She said clearly. **_Natsume and Ruka noticed that she had the same desolate expression and voice as she had when she left their dorm._** "As you've just hear, my name is Mikan Sakura. I'll be turning seventeen shortly after next year. I've been hidden from the media for my entire life for my own protection.**_

"_**My father, Izumi Sakura, has advised me to tell you all a few important things about myself so they don't come as a shock in the near future when I take over the Sakura Corporation." Mikan cleared her throat. "I was born with a magnified rare trait. I assume most of you have heard of the term 'photographic memory' at some point in your life, perhaps even witnessed someone using it.**_

"_**Photographic memory is thought of as a sort of as a sort of autism. A very rare autism that instead of giving the user a severe disadvantage, it gives the user a very high advantage. An average photographic memory usually consist of simply being able to remember any sounds, images or objects with extreme accuracy and in abundant volume. My photographic memory however, is much different. It's sort of magnified.**_

"_**Ever since I was a child I've been able to recall every single thing, ever since birth, albeit it's a bit hazy. Because of this I was able to walk and talk almost immediately after my muscles were strong enough. Because of this I'm more… shall we say, **_**developed**_** compared to others my age. My body has been active for longer so I'm able to move a better and more flexibly to them. When I read a book I remember every single word, and when I hear a sound I can mimic it perfectly. If I see a movement I can copy it flawlessly, repeat it and perfect it with almost no efforts.**_

"_**I've also been pretending to be a commoner for most of my life due to the fact that I get into high society schools using scholarships. I've moved around a lot, so I won't be surprised if there's a lot of angry faces glaring at television sets around the world. After all, I have been deceiving you all for almost seventeen years." She finished her speech, leaving everyone in complete silence. "Are there any questions?" she asked somewhat cautiously.**_

_**The reporters erupted into questions, all personal, so Mikan ignored them, stepping back.**_

_**Izumi took his place at the podium then. "We'd also like to announce that we'll be opening a new line of business in children's play toys with Mikan at the head. Most of the products were created by her. These shops are currently being built over the world, and we hope you and your children will enjoy. Thank you, and that's all."**_

Natsume and Ruka stared at the television screen in silence, not bothering to switch it off now that they were gone.

Natsume couldn't help but wonder what Mikan would be like from now on.

* * *

**Alright, so this is that short preveiw i mentioned ealier :) Tell me what you think ;)**

_**Meet Mikan Sakura**—_

She's got the looks– long silky chestnut hair, sparkling chocolate brown orbs and a face carved by angels with a body that matches perfectly. On top of that she's a complete Ace – perfect grades, great at almost every sport she tries, talented artist, natural comedian, sings like an angel and moves with the music like a leaf in the wind. Now I bet you've all assumed by now that she's, like, the most popular chick in Tokyo, right? WRONG.

Sure, she seems almost perfect, and everyone would love a person like that who's still lovely to those around her. The problem being that for someone to be popular she has to be noticed and noticed is something Mikan Sakura is _not_.

Why, you might ask? Because Mikan has one fatal flaw-

She's a complete Tomboy. Yeah, I bet you naturally assumed she was just a little _too_ perfect, huh? Turns out you were right. In elementary school she was outcast by most of the girls simply because she didn't prance around in frilly dresses carting around a pretty little princess bag stuffed with Barbie dolls. Then she just sort of grew up on the outskirts of social groups, an outcast amongst her own.

Her third yeah of elementary she made her first friend, a boy named Ruka Nogi. He let her play dodge ball with him and his friends, which is where everything went wrong—we all know that boys don't take kindly to a girl who can toss a ball harder than they can, right?

This kid brat, Natsume Hyuuga, decided he didn't like her. _At all_. So he went about making sure _no one_ liked her. In the end it got so bad that she transferred out of Gakuen Alice and moved across country to attend some other all girls' rich kid boarding school. Lame, right? Yeah, she sure thought so. Who's heard that girls hold grudges for like 70 years, or whatever it was? That applies to our little Miss Sakura – she wants vengeance on the brat, and she'll get it one way or another.

In her away time she befriended several girls: Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, Misaki and Nobara. They were like her – complete outcasts. So the outcasts rebelled and made their own little clique.

And now that little cliques moving back to Gakuen Alice.

Watch out, Hyuuga.

She's back.

_**Meet Natsume Hyuuga**—_

He's got the looks– silky raven hair, captivating crimson orbs and a face and body that god rival any Greek god. On top of that he's almost as great as Mikan – perfect grades, great at every sport he tries, natural comedian and he toik hip-hop dance lessons some time ago, so he's just _great_. Now I bet you've all assumed by now that he's like the most popular guy out there, right? Well then, you'd be so right it's not funny.

He's recognized as a figure equal to a god in male eyes – the man that gets what he wants, when he wants it. To the girls he's the guy to have, of course! He wouldn't want such a gorgeous guy? I could name a certain someone… *SAKURA*…

Back in elementary his best friend Ruka had a crush on some tomboy chick, which he thought was completely unacceptable. So, he eliminated the problem like he does every other time. No big deal, right?

WRONG.

_**Now, this is where the story takes off…**_

_**

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_**So, how'd you like it? Any good? i hope so :D  
**_


	9. Past and Present

**Sorry this one took a while to update! I forgot all about updating, actually - bad, right? I got my assignment almost-done though, so i guess it was worth it in the long run.**

**Gosh, you know what? I wrote out that plot for the entire story yesterday - it's longer then I'd originally intended, and it's got a pretty brutal ending... I wanna' tell you so bad .! But, *sigh* i know i can't because that would defeat the purpose of reading the story, right?**

**Anyway, yeah! Here's chapter 9 :D**

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**8**

The following month at Gakuen Alice passed by as follows:

As expected, Mikan was the center of attention. Natsume didn't know how to approach her at all, because his nerves refused to allow him peace of mind whenever he saw the delicate swish of her long brown hair.

Now, what was surprising is that Mikan, bubbly, happy, sarcastic Mikan who got along with everyone, shut herself down completely. She sat on the window sill every lesson, ate somewhere in the gardens where no one could find her, and she didn't speak to anyone except for Hotaru and we all know Hotaru's not one for conversation.

After the first two or three days of receiving Mikan's murderous glares, the teachers stopped asking her questions during class. It was pointless trying to teach someone who already knew more than them. All she had to do was read through the text book and she'd completed the course.

When Natsume and Mikan went to business meetings she'd speak in a monotone, never adding in that mischevious grin he'd grown to love. She'd completely shut herself off to everyone and everything. He'd found out through Ruka he'd heard from Hotaru who had been told by her parents that all she did was sit outside of the grass and stare at the sky, unless she was preparing new products and writing business reports.

She'd finished and given a murderous glare at Narumi sensei when he announced the school trip, adding in that it was compulsory for every last year student to attend. She'd quickly regained her composure though, accepting the fact that she'd have to spend her holidays with her classmates.

She was completely robotic.

--

Natsume is sitting between Hotaru and Ruka in class. Everyone had paused when Mikan's cell rang. It'd been odd to hear her voice as she replied with short answers like 'yes', 'no' and 'now'. She'd stood snapped her phone shut and made her way to the door, stopping as she slid it open.

"I've been called out, Narumi. Ask uncle for an explanation." She muttered in a somewhat irritated tone – the first emotion the class had seen her display ever since she flinched at the announcement of the school trip for the holidays.

The class began murmuring but Narumi shut them up, sucking them back into work. Hotaru watched Natsume sigh and glanced past him to see the concerned look on Ruka's face. She felt sorry for them both, but there was no helping it.

--

It was lunch time now, Mikan was still gone and everyone was eating in the classroom, chatting about random things when Luna and Sumire began bad mouthing her.

"She's such a bitch," Sumire was saying. When she realized the others were watching her she perked up, pruning herself quickly. "I mean _come, on_! She was fine talking to everyone and acting like a wanna-be idiot a month ago when we all hated her and thought she was poor, but now that we know she's one of us she's acting like she better than us." She finished, shooting a sidelong glanced to catch Natsume's bored face staring out the window.

"Yeah!" Luna agreed, nodding. "Little snob thinks just because she a rich girl that can memorize everything she's better than us all. I recon we should get back at her, you know, beat her up or steal her things—,"

Luna was abruptly cut off when Hotaru slammed a fist into the side of her head, knocking her off her seat, leaving her sprawled on the floor. "Listen here you ugly hag," Hotaru practically hissed, her eyes flashing dangerously. "If you walk within a meter of Mikan if she didn't beat you into a pile of flesh and bones, _I_ would." She growled, glaring viciously around the room. "Listen to yourselves!" she snapped, addressing the whole class now. "You sound like a bunch of old granny's in a retirement home throwing tantrums because only Mikan gets any visitors!"

They remained silent, some angry and others amazed. But she wasn't done yet. "Do you know why Mikan don't talk to you people? No, of course you don't, because you're all to fucking stupid to remember back that far, aren't you?" Everyone gasped at the sound of Hotaru cursing so vulgarly without a second thought. "Everyone stays in the same class from their first year at the academy. Of course, none of you remember the little girl that used to be better at sport then all the guys and smarter and prettier than all the girls. You're all so selfish and stuck-up that you block out anything that makes you seem anything but perfect!

"I transferred in at the beginning of second year elementary, as you all know. I remember seeing her, sitting in the back completely isolated from you all. I saw her ask you, Anna and Nonoko, if she could borrow your scissors for all of two fucking seconds so she could trim a sheet to glue into her book because she _forgot_ hers." She laughed humorlessly, her eyes growing even colder. "We all know that's a load of crap. She didn't forget. She was just so tired of being alone that she began making excuses to communicate with you people, although I don't see why. You should have seen the semi-smug little smile she gave when you actually acknowledged her existence by saying something like 'Get away'. It was the most depressing thing I ever saw."

The entire room fell silent and still as people began to recall back to their elementary years, their eyes widening slightly with realization. "Yeah, of course. Now you remember, right? Of course you do." She shook her head. "I remember when you, Kokoro, Sumire and Luna, decided to trick her into thinking she could play with you in the afternoon. What was it? 'Meet us on the roof after school', right? You know she went. And she sat there through the entire night, waiting for you to show up. She went home in the morning just to tell her parents she hadn't been kidnapped." Koko, Sumire and Luna joined Anna and Nonoko in their guilt.

"They're not the only guilty ones. I remember trying to get close enough to speak to her at the play groud on my second week – you all surrounded me and told me that she was a know it all little bully. I didn't believe you, though. I followed her and watched her throw herself into a lake to save some irresponsible mothers kid. And then I watched that same irresponsible mother slap her so hard she bled. Did she cry? Did she kick the woman like any of us would have? No, she apologized and walked away. I found her later and had to take her to the hospital.

"I asked her why she was walking all by herself, and she said that she heard some kids talking about ambushing her with eggs on her way home, so she took another route around the city." She snorted. "That's right, she'd rather risk being kidnapped then try to hold in more tears when you pelted her with eggs." Hotaru stopped huffing loudly. Natsume realized that the story Akir – no, Mikan – had told him must have been from Hotaru's perspective. Nobody had ever heard Hotaru speak so loudly for so long, but they were too distracted to bother dwelling on the subject.

No wonder Mikan hated them all, Natsume thought. To be treated that way by everyone must have been completely horrible, yet she'd still befriended everyone when she first arrived at the academy. She obviously knew that the only reason they were talking to her was because she was rich and famous now. Who could blame her from being anti-social?

"Hyuuga," she said, appearing beside Natsume suddenly. The look in her eyes was a mixture of pity and disgust. "Come with me. Now." She said firmly, strolling out the door. Natsume stood up immediately, following her as quickly as he could. She led him into a deserted area of the school.

"What?" he asked rudely, although he hadn't meant it that way. He was just shocked about everything. He couldn't be bothered to apologize though – he hadn't even noticed him unpleasantness yet.

"I'm guessing, judging by the way Mikan avoid you at all costs, that you confessed to her. Don't bother denying It." she added quickly when he opened his mouth to protest. "I'm just going to tell you why she's avoiding you, and that's it. Tell her anything and I'll tell everyone in the school. Starting with Sumire."

Natsume nodded, keeping quiet.

Hotaru nodded her approval, sitting down on a bench. Natsume took a spot beside her. "Alright. Despite everything I just said in the room, there's more." She almost smirked at Natsume's horror struck face and her hand twitched for her camera. She shook her head, starting again.

"There was this guy called Akira Sukashi, complete playboy.. He's a year older than us. He knew everything about Mikan except for the fact that she was the Sakura heir, and she was unaware of the fact that he knew she was filthy rich." Her eye twitched and her fists clenched. "He noticed how she didn't have any friends, so he sucked up to her, got in good. They became really good friends, I can still remember Mikan's ecstatic voice over the phone when she called me up from America to tell me she'd finally made another friend." She made a bitter noise.

"After a while he obviously figured out she wasn't going to start spoiling him with her riches when he was just her friend, so he tricked her into thinking she was in love with him, and that he was in love with her. She fell _hard_ for this guy; he was good at what he did. He convinced Mikan to go out with him and then managed to get her to let him go to her house, which is when she 'told' him that she wasn't actually a poor person. He acted surprised, I'd assume, although she didn't me all the details.

"He kept up the act for about a year, rolling in the pretty presents and all of the lovely things she picked up off movies and books. He enjoyed himself, but he was totally cheating on her at least twice a week. She noticed about a week before it ended, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't, she loved him, and although she didn't want to share, she was afraid that if he knew she knew he'd dumped her. She didn't want to be selfish – she thought Akira was something the entire world deserved to own. It was only fair." She scoffed, her eyes narrowing.

"It didn't last long after that though – she clung to him, trying to keep him away from the other girls. That's when he cracked. He went all out and told her every single tiny detail of his play boy scheme, and he didn't fail to mention how everyone in the school had known exactly what he was up to. They'd helped him play the part of the perfect Prince Charming. It was a group effort. And you know what's really sad? She still loved him, and she asked him what she had to do to keep him, to be _worthy_. Now, what does every teenage boy want?" she raised an eyebrow at Natsume, causing him to blush slightly at the obvious answer.

"Yes, he wanted a relationship where he could be satisfied. So the conditions were set that she had to meet him two nights a week and he was still allowed to see one a two girls every week, two. She hated it, but she loved him, so she did it. It went well like that for about a month; until she found out she was pregnant. She told him, he bailed; she got an abortion and moved countries again. Nobody knew except for Mikan, Akira and me. Now you know, too. Not even her parents know. She felt horrible for killing A.J before he'd even been born, but she had to, because she knew he'd look just like his dad, and she couldn't bear that sort of constant, haunting reminder." A tear slipped out of Hotaru's eye and she clawed it off her cheek immediately.

"That's pretty much why she doesn't trust anyone one puts the word 'love' and her name in the same sentence without adding 'not' or 'never'." She stated, finishing her long monologue.

Natsume sat in stunned silence. She'd been used for her money and cheated on, he'd admitted he didn't love her at all and she _still_ wanted him. So much so that she'd let him get her pregnant. Natsume pulled out his cell phone when he regained his composure, dialing a number. "Yes. I'd like the FBI and National American police force, please." He said firmly.

Hotaru's eyes popped open. "What the hell are you doing!?" she snapped, swiping his phone and snapping it in half. "I'll pay you for a new one, but that was stupid, Hyuuga."

"How so? I could hire an assassin instead, but that would be worse for him." He stated simply, his eyes cold and hard with rage.

"If you call the National police his face would be on TV, Mikan would see it, and she'd blame herself. If you make her hurt Hyuuga, I don't care who your father is, I'll kill you with my own two hands."

"What do I do then?" he asked half heartedly, giving her a lazy look.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's the school trip tomorrow, so you don't want to piss her off now." She said, walking away without another word.

Natsume watched after her and dropped his head in despair.

What could he do to help her?


	10. Hostage

**OMFG. I'm so damn sorry! Really!! .!! I haven't had the internet for a while because my computer, _my_ computer - the computer I had been using was my dads, by the way - was being fixed, and my brother was being a complete dickhead and wouldn't connect the net to my PC!  
And then? Then I had to re-write this chapter because all of the files on my dads pc got wiped -AGAIN!?!?!?- and i lost everything again! od damn them all .! Honestly, I quit -.- Not fanfction, of course, but my actual story - yeah, I was like, writing a book, sad, huh? - i quit that now, because i just lost it all again. I'm sick of rewriting :/**

**Well, anyway, I'm sorry! Here's chapter ten, and I'll try and finish chapter 11 real soon, too! Holidays are only a week away, so hopefully I'll be able to update heaps :D **

**Sorry:/ Enjoy! :)  
**

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**10**

Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka were standing outside of the almost-full, luxurious double Decker bus that was parked in front of the main building at Gakuen Alice. They were all waiting for Mikan – who would be sharing the back seat with Hotaru, Natsume and Ruka due to names being pulled out of a hat. All three of them were positive we wouldn't like it.

But what made them feel down was knowing that she'd play it cool and pretend she didn't give a rats' ass about who she was sitting next to. They'd all love to see her display an emotion – rage would be fantastic, because every member of the class thought they deserved to feel her wrath.

And they were right, they did. But of course, they all _knew_ she wouldn't harm them, because she'd blame herself. Why beat herself up when she's already just about suicidal? Well, there was no way she'd commit suicide – if she was a normal person, she probably already would have.

In ten minutes the bus would leave for the airport, with or without Mikan Sakura. And if she missed the bus and didn't get to the airport on her own for the plane, she'd be expelled. It was compulsory, that was that.

No skipping.

It worried Natsume to think that she'd purposely get herself kicked out of Gakuen Alice just so she didn't have to put up with them anymore, but it didn't seem likely. Everyone at Gakuen Alice had figured out she's not a talker already, and moving schools would mean putting up with suck-ups all over again.

He knew she wouldn't like that at all, which was his only glimmer of hope.

"Maybe she's not—," Ruka cut himself off, biting his tongue when a black car with dark tinted windows pulled up outside of the gates and Mikan jumped out with two men tailing her holding two large suitcases. Sure, her suitcases were big, but they were nowhere near as big as all the other girls' suitcases.

She was wearing faded blue jeans and a plain white tee-shirt with a pair of blue glasses on. Instead of a little handbag she had a small back pack on. She was wearing a pair of black and white skate shoes. She nodded at Hotaru. "Hey." She said emotionlessly – her usual tone.

Hotaru nodded back. "Hey. I'll go tell the teachers you're here." She said, stepping onto the bus. Mikan shrugged and continued walking.

When she realized she didn't know where to put her bags, she reluctantly turned to Ruka and stared at him without saying anything until even Natsume felt uncomfortable – and he wasn't even the one she was staring at.

"O-over here, Sakura-san." He said, leading her around to the side of the bus to an open compartment that was filled with suitcases. "They go in there." He said, about to retreat.

Mikan tapped his arm and he turned around, surprised at the contact. "Thank you." She said before turning around and telling the men holding her bags to put them in gently and close the door. After that she followed them around to the door and marched up the stairs, only to be stopped by Narumi.

Narumi grinned. He was wearing a purple suit. With frills. _Barf_. Sure, he dressed like a complete gay and skipped around like a five year old girl with a new Barbie doll, but he was a total lady-killer. And he didn't have a bad personality, either. H=just the way he dressed crept Natsume out big time.

"Alright, Mikan-chan!" Narumi said, slighting through lists of names. "You'll be sitting in the back row on the second deck between Hotaru and Ruka. No buts, go." He waved her off, ignoring her murderous glare.

Natsume took his place at the window beside Ruka. Hotaru was at the other window and Mikan was strolling casually down the aisle between the chairs, ignoring all of the guilty looks people shot her on the way. Even the occasional 'sorry' was whispered quietly.

She sat down, pulled her bag off and stuck it on her lap, crossing her legs. It was silent as the bus took off, heading for the airport. Then Mikan, of all people to start a conversation, _Mikan_, nudged Hotaru and pulled her glasses off. "You told them." She said simply but with an edge that indicated that she only just noticed it now.

Hotaru nodded. "Guilty. They were pissing me off." She didn't bother defending herself or trying to pretend it wasn't her that told them – who else knew enough to tell anyone anything? Psh. "Are you mad?" she asked quietly.

Natsume half smiled when he saw Mikan eyebrows shot up briefly in surprise. "Are you a mornon?" she asked almost incredulously, holding Hotaru's face. "Of course I'm not mad. I'm furious." She muttered. "But it's okay, because it's you. Without you I'd have gone insane. You know that, Hotaru. So never think I'm mad at you. Understood?" Mikan pretended not to notice, but Natsume paid acute attention to all of the staring faces.

Of course they were going to stare. Mikan hadn't said that much in day all month, little own expressed _emotion_. They had the right to be surprised.

They spent the rest of the bus ride in silence, although chattering could be heard from the lower deck directly beneath their feet. Occasionally small conversations would break out amongst the other on their deck, too, but it never lasted long.

Natsume spent the trip waiting for Mikan to turn so he could get a glimpse of that face she'd been hiding from him for so long, but she just kept staring past Ruka and out the window. She didn't turn back until the bus pulled in at the airport.

They all piled out of the bus and made their way into the terminal to wait for their luggage to be packed and for the plane to be ready. Natsume and Ruka sat off to the side where there were only a few kids that didn't know how to communicate with someone like Natsume.

Natsume saw the captain talking to three tourists, shaking his head and giving directions. He shrugged it off and talked to Ruka until they were allowed to board the plane, where their seats and partners were once again draw by paper out of a hat.

Narumi gave a sly smile when he pulled the next two pieces out, keeping his eyes on Natsume before he briefly shot a look at Mikan. "Seat 67, Natsume Hyuuga, seat 68, Mikan Sakura." He called, clearly not surprised to receive Mikan's deadly glare. "It was chance." He said, sticking the paper in his pocket. "Fate." He muttered quietly.

Natsume walked to his seat, dropping down beside the window as Minkan sat in her place. They remained quiet for the entire trip, Natsume watching her again. He sighed, finally looking away to find that everyone, including the teachers, were fast asleep. He followed suite soon after Mikan's eyes slid shut.

--

They all woke up abruptly as the plane speakers switched on, the seat belt light flashing. "We're sorry to say, student of Gakuen Alice, that we'll be high jacking this plane and holding you all captive for a nice sum of ransom money. We have guns. Remain in your seats and wait there for further instruction, thank you."

Everyone was in a panic almost instantly, except for Mikan, who undid her seat belt, stood up and made her way to the front of the area. "Alright, listen up!" she hollered, instantly shutting up the chat. Narumi and Jinno rushed up the instant she waved them over, and she quickly told them something no one else could hear.

They both frowned, shaking their heads. "Miss Sakura, we can't—," Jinno started, but Mikan clamped a hand over his mouth, shutting him up.

"No time for that, idiot teacher." She snapped, turning back to face everyone. "You're all going to stay quiet. Very quiet, and we're going to follow whatever instructions we're given. Do not, and I mean this, _do not_ mention anything about money or power. You're all going to follow my lead and _try_ to pretend you're not stinking rich. Now, I'm going to go collect all expensive items you have with you right now and hide them in my bag."

She left no room for rebuttal. She went from row to row, collecting goods and about a minute after she took her seat three men – the three men Natsume had spotted earlier talking to the captain – entered the cabin with rifles.

"Greetings, little children. Remain quiet now and exit the plane. There will be guides outside to take you where you need to go. Don't be a hero. We will shoot you." The first man stated plainly. "Without further ado, you may exit – ah, ah, aahhh, not you teachers. Stay seated."

"We're not—," Narumi began following Mikan's plan, but he held a gun to his head to silence him.

Natsume followed Mikan out of the plane and through a fenced off pathway heading for a large hotel. They were lead to the bottom floor that looked like a car park of some sort. With quick inspection it was easy to see that there were no camera's.

"Now you'll all sit here. You can have a little chat if you'd like. Guards are stationed outside." He gave a satisfied nod and left the students locked in the dusty old room.

It was silent for a moment until Mikan spoke up, seeming to have made up her mind. "Alright. You're all poor. When he comes back, I'll get you out of here. No ifs or buts, this is just the way it's going to be. Stay quiet."

It was a good ten minutes before the three men came back into the room, looking a little discouraged. Narumi and Jinno were with them until they were pushed to the floor with the others.

"Are these men your teachers?" he asked harshly, glaring around the room when Mikan burst out in hysterical laughter. He pointed the gun at her.

"You people messed up _so_ bad." She said, still chuckling to herself. "So, _soooo_ bad." She giggled, shaking her head and standing up. "The Gakuen Alice plane left this morning. These commoners are from the public school on the others side of Tokyo, morons. Those guys were just freeloaders who needed to get out of the country. Do what you want." She smirked. "Or I could help you, let you know which ones are rich and whose parents can pay ransom…" she trailed of suggestively, shrugging a little. "It's your choice."

They chatted amongst themselves for a moment. Obviously, they recognized her. "You're that Sakura girl. Mikan, isn't it? With the strange memory?" she nodded. "We'll listen."

She nodded. "You might have figured that I'm a bit of a do-gooder. Hell, if these kids were the ones in my class I'd shut up and let you shoot them all, but they're not." She sighed. "If you let them all go home I'll stay right here, I won't fight or struggle and I'll even help you contact my parents on an untapped phone line." She was serious now, all business.

They spoke amongst themselves again, glancing at her occasionally. Natsume couldn't believe it – none of them could. After everything they'd done to her here she was, risking her own life just to get them out of danger. _Again_.

They looked at her and then at the kids before finally ending their chat. "You've got a deal, little girl." They stated. "You, commoners, up now. You'll be taken back to the plane. If any of you say anything about this we'll hunt you down with this girl's fortune."

Unable to protest and already being pulled along by classmates, Natsume reluctantly followed them out of the building and back into the plane. Nobody uttered a single word until they were safely off the ground.

_Safely off the ground without Mikan._ The thought echoed in his mind, banging against his sanity, trying to break through it.

Natsume finally cracked.

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**Dun dun duuun?!?**


	11. Rescue & Bravery

**Yay :D Okay, I was glad to see that everyone was still interested in reading this story after the long wait for an update, and I told some of you yesterday I should be able to update some more today! **

**Now there's a few things that will look completely pointless in this chapter, but they're extremely significant. Keep your minds open and see if you can work out how the story will end... hmm, suppose it's a bad thing to tell you the key to the ending is in this chapter, huh? Well, there's several different possible outcomes if you base it on this chapter, I guess...  
**

**So, thanks for all the reviews and here's chapter 11!**

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**11**

Mikan sat quietly in the luxurious hotel room. She'd been given one guard who was to assure she stayed in the room. She could easily take him out, but she didn't want to risk it. there were others spread out around the island, but she knew she could still escape if she really wanted to.

And she knew that she could want to. She knew she should be scared, or at least a little uncomfortable. But she wasn't. She was bored, annoyed and she wanted to cry. Crying never solved anything, though, and she refused to make the kidnappers think she was crying because of them. That would be absurd.

She was waiting for them to bring her some kind of drug, or was it a poison? They'd discussed both, but hadn't really decided which to use in the end. Maybe they'd come back with both. T

They planned to inject one of the two into her system to make sure she didn't get away unless they let her go. They had the antidote, no one else. If she ran off after being injected, she'd die within a given time that varied on the physical and mental strength of the person.

She glanced up to see men enter the room wearing white coats.

One held up a needle.

--

Natsume sat in the helicopter, watching Hotaru hand out stun guns, baka guns, gloves with horse hooves and headset's to Yuu, Ruka, Tsubasa, Miaski and Youichi. She'd already given his set to him as she went through and explained the plan.

She finished off by handing a bag and a belt to each person – bags for anything they might need them for and belts for the guns. Headsets were put on immediately. Once they arrived back at the island they would split into groups of two and one group of three: Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka, then Yuu and Youichi, and then Tsubasa and Misaki.

Natsume had cracked earlier and phoned for a helicopter and a SWAT team to take down the island and get Mikan back. Unfortunately it would have taken too long to get either of the two requests to be fulfilled, so he contacted the nearest helicopter and paid it to drop them off.

They were going back for Mikan.

The helicopter landed on the other side of the island, hidden by the tree's on the other side of the mountain. They'd have to sneak back around the island before they could split up and move in, but the effort would be worth it if they could bring back their friend.

Natsume closed he's eyes, breathing in and out. He knew what he was doing was stupid, completely idiotic. If he died, who would take over his father's company? He was being irresponsible, it was stupid and, and… _Worth it._ He thought firmly, opening he's eyes as Ruka jumped out of the helicopter. They were outside, waiting for him.

They didn't wait long, of course. Natsume was out after them in an instant. The helicopter and the pilot remained there, waiting for them to return and ready to take off immediately. He was a little surprised o see that they'd already split into groups and taken off in different directions, the ultimate goal being that large hotel like structure.

"Hurry up, Hyuuga." Hotaru said, moving forward beside Ruka. Natsume would have smiled at her concern for Mikan, but it was hard to smile when he knew Mikan could be in all sorts of danger.

--

Mikan's eyes fluttered open as she woke up, staring up at the ceiling. The first thing she noticed is that she was moving, second she was still in doors, and third whatever they'd just injected into her arm was either wearing off or fading away.

It hadn't hurt at all when they injected it, although she did hate needles. Afterwards though, probably five minutes from when then injected it, she got extremely dizzy, her eyesight all fuzzy and her eyes glazed over. Then she passed out.

Now? Now she felt fin, albeit still dizzy, and she was… moving? She blinked, looking around. Oh. She was on a bed… no, a stretcher of some sort, and the men with guns were carrying her. Carrying her where, though?

She contemplated sitting up, flipping over the idea in her head. Would they knock her out again? Or… maybe they thought she was dead after that drug, and they were going to dispose of her body? If that was the case, she could wait for them to dump her somewhere and then make her escape.

She remained still, snapping her eyes shut just as she heard doors swing open.

--

By this stage, Yuu and Youichi were around the opposite side to Tsubasa and Misaki, while Hotaru, Ruka and Natsume were in the bushes a few meters from the front entrance. They weren't stupid – charging in through the front door was a pretty suicidal move.

They'd been sitting in position for a while now, and they'd already taken out several different guards that were posted around the outside. "How long are we going to wait for?" Ruka asked quietly, still glaring at the door like he could see through it.

Neither replied for a moment, but then Hotaru glanced down at her watch. "Give it 5, maybe 10 minutes." She replied just as quietly. Then, before he could ask why, she said, "That's how long it should take them to realize the guards aren't responding."

Ruka nodded, understanding. Natsume was growing impatient. Here they were, sitting outside safely, while Mikan…

The doors swung open and the three of them crouched lower into the bushes, holding their breath as men with guns stepped through the door. They were carrying something between them. A stretcher? Someone must have been hurt.

"Wait a minute…" one guy said, causing the others to halt in their march. He looked around nervously. "Where's Jack and the others?" he asked finally.

But it was too late for them now. Misaki and Tsubasa fired first, as a distraction for Yuu and Youichi to come up from the other side with stun guns. Natsume and Ruka wereon their feet, creeping around to the side to start the assault while Hotaru co-ordinated the attack from a safe distance, ready to offer assistance.

In a blur it was over. The stretcher was dropped and the men were all unconscious on the ground, easily distracted by Misaki and Tsubasa. Hotaru had made sure they knew when to hide deeper in to avoid being shot or captured. It was a great team effort.

Natsume stood on something soft, jumping back to watch something, or someone, curse and pull a blanket off its – no, her – head. "Natsume?" she asked incredulously, rubbing her eyes. "Aww, shit. Passing out _and_ hallucinating. What's next?"

Natsume dropped everything, reached down and pulled her up into a tight embrace. Nothing mattered. It didn't matter that she hated him, it didn't matter that they could be shot at any moment, it didn't matter that he was being irresponsible and risking his life for a _girl_. It just didn't matter.

"Mikan." He breathed her name a soft caress on his lips. "You're alright." He sighed, hugging her tighter.

She coughed. "I'd be alright if I could breathe, Hyuuga." She gasped, clearly uncomfortable. He flushed, loosening his grip but not really releasing her. He heard voices from inside at about the same moment she knocked them into the bushes. He looked over to see Hotaru and the others retreating into the bushes to hide.

"They're gone!" A man's furious voice growled. He threw something to the ground and it shattered, spilling out the liquid contents. He chuckled. "She's as good as dead, then." He snapped, shaking his head.

"What should we do, sir?" Another man asked, less angry but still clearly annoyed. "They must still be on the island."

"Move out, after them immediately." He snapped. His orders were followed by shuffling and then dozens of footsteps heading in different directions.

Natsume flinched at Hotaru's voice in his head piece. "Hyuuga they're coming this way. We need to make our escape now or we'll be found. Go back around the beach side and we'll pick you up with the rope ladder. Lose the idiot and I'll kill you." Her voice faded out and he assumed she was already on the move with the others.

Natsume and Mikan lay in the bushes, listening intensely and not noticing the awkward position they were in – Natsume's arms were around her waist and her arms were pressed to his chest. Her legs were around his waist, too, which gave the main sense of awkwardness.

The instant Mikan was sure they were alone she rolled to the side, seeming extremely relieved. "We need to get to the beach." She said, an odd and unfamiliar emotion shaking her voice. Was it fear? Natsume couldn't tell.

He just nodded, watching as she stuck he head out of the bushes and glanced around. "All clear. Hope you can keep up with me." She held a hand out to him and he grabbed it, pulling himself up as she took off at a sprint. Natsume kept up, but he could tell she wasn't pushing her hardest at all. She could go a lot faster.

They didn't talk as they ran through the tree's, ducking here and there when they heard voices. They Mikan never let go of his hand, though, for which he was grateful. Feeling the warmth of her hand on his reassured him that she was there, alive and well. As it should be.

When they got to the beach they realized it wasn't safe there, either. To wide, to open. Nowhere to hide themselves. Mikan seemed to realize this to, and when they got to the beach she kept running up it.

"Where are we going?" Natsume asked, breaking the silence. It was difficult for him to speak after running for so long. Unlike him, Mikan seemed completely unaffected by their nonstop sprinting.

She didn't reply at first, she just kept running. "I saw some rocks further up when they hijacked the plane." She stated. It annoyed him a little that she didn't seem to be even the slightest bit tired. She didn't seem human.

_No, not human._ He decided, his eyes softening as a small smile touched his sweating face. _An angel._

He didn't notice Mikan was pulling him into a dark cave until he almost tripped over the rocky floor. "Watch your step." Mikan whispered, sitting down.

Natsume reluctantly let her pull her hand away as she sat down; he took his place beside her on the damp rocks of the cave floor. He had to say something now while they were alone, this would be his only chance. Why let it go to waste?

"Mikan…" he began, but he stopped when he saw her flinch. _She knows,_ he thought. _She knows what I'm going to say, and she hates me so much she flinching away from my voice._ The thought hurt him, but it wasn't about to stop him.

"Mikan, I love you." He said simply, keeping his eyes locked on her face, waiting for her to look at him. "I know… I know Akira—," he watched her cringe away from the name. "I know he hurt you, but I'm not him, Mikan. I won't… I won't hurt you. And I want you to know that I can… wait, I can wait for you if I need to. I can't wait until you're ready to move on, to take the risk.

"But I'm telling you now, I won't give up. I don't care if I have to wait until we're 80 years old, I'll keep on waiting. You can't shake me off, Mikan." He gave a soft smile as she looked at him with a somewhat desperate expression. It made him feel better to see that she was listening to him, that she was absorbing his words instead of letting them bounce off her cold outer façade.

She didn't reply though, so he sighed, happily to just watch her. "I love you." He repeated, smiling. _I'm a fool,_ he thought, laughing silently. He'd called many people fools, but he'd never thought of himself becoming a fool. Maybe he was always a fool? It didn't matter; he was just realizing it now.

Mikan cleared her throat, looking down at the ground, thinking. "Natsume I… I'm scared." She looked up, locking eyes with him. "I'm scared. I'm scared of being in love with you." Her voice shook a little and she smiled a little. "I act so fearless. I try to cover up my cowardice by helping others and risking my own life, but I can't fool myself. I know I _like_ you, but whenever I hear the words 'I love you' come out of someone's mouth it just…

"His face appears in my mind. And then… the… the face of the little unborn child and hat I did to him… I killed it. I'm a murderer. My so called 'selfless' acts of kindness towards others that put me at risk aren't selfless at all. That's just me repeating, trying to make up for the life I stole." She looked up at him. "None of it would have happened if he didn't say 'I love you' to me. Nothing would have happened."

She looked away, towards the cave entrance. Natsume didn't want to speak, though. He could tell she wasn't finished. "I…" she continued staring out at the ocean, a light breeze ruffling the hair on both their heads. "I want to try." She whispered before her head snapped back around so she was practically glaring at Natsume with fierce determination. "I want to try again! I want to be brave, Natsume. I want to say it, to you I want to say those words without feeling nauseous afterwards. I want to say 'I love you' and not worry about who you're going to spend the night with.

"I…" she trailed off, blinking. "I think I l… I love you. Help me. Help me be brave, help me love you. I…" she smiled, standing up and walking over to him. She sat down beside him, still holding his gaze. Natsume swallowed, refusing to blink. "I love you." She said. She waited a moment, judging her reaction then she smiled and leaned forward abruptly, catching his lips with her own. Natsume, albeit a bit shocked, reacted immediately, kissing her back. When they broke apart it was because of the sound of the helicopter.

They were both up and moving for the cave exit immediately, but Mikan halted, reaching out for Natsume's hand. He placed his hand in hers, smiling. _This is the way it should be,_ he thought, almost laughing at his own happiness. _Maybe not in this sort of situation, but definitely like this. Me with her._

Hotaru lowered the rope ladder and they both grabbed on.

Together.

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**Did you guess, did you guess!?? Yay :D I certainly hope you didn't...**

**By the way - No, this is not the end. When I do end the story I'll have 'THE END' at the bottom and then probably another chapter after it with the first chapter of two other stories I'm thinking about writing and a new poll on my profile page for you guys to vote for one. This time It'll probably be 'Graduation' (The last one where Mikan's a mega Tomboy) and the one i started writing just now that I don't know anything about.**

**Thanks for reading :D!**


	12. Missing & Party Plans

**From the start of this chapter by skipping a month you might think I'm trying to rush the story in to the end, but I'm not :) There's still a good... 4, more 5 if not more chapters left for this story. The chapter's will probably take between 3-4 days for me to update, too. I'll be busy on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday so I'll try hard to get one up for Thursday. I should be home Friday night, so maybe It'll be posted then. I don't think you really want to wait another week for another chapter though - i know i wouldn't. Don't...**

**You people are sharp. You pick up on things i _never_ would have noticed if I hadn't written the story. My challenge was just words, damn it -.- I didn't expect you to go and figure out the plot for the story, geez :P Well done though, i know at least 2 people worked out out and i think another 2 (4all up) noticed something crucial but thought over it.**

**I salute your observant ways, but i also curse them.**

**Anyway, enough ranting. Here's chapter 12! Enjoy :D!  
**

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**12**

It's been almost a month since the kidnapping accident. Mikan's been an active part of the school and she's made man, many good friends. She's a constant joy to be around, always making people fool good about themselves and she works very hard for her company and school.

Things with her and Natsume have been progressing smoothly. Everyone knows that they're an item, and no one bothers trying to get in the way. They're perfect for each other, why would anyone try to destroy the happiness in Mikan's life when there's so little of it?

Taking after Natsume and Mikan's great example, several other couples were formed amongst the Special class and outside of it, too. Tusbasa and Misaki, for example, finally admitted to their true feelings for one another, and now they're seen everywhere together.

A slightly more complicated relationship would be Kokoro and Sumire. Koko had confessed to Sumire, but Sumire had still been totally hung up on Natsume. Oddly enough it was Mikan who convinced her to give Koko a chance. Turned out Koko was almost the exact way she pictured Natsume – handsome in his own way, rich, high class and as a bonus feature he was kind and loyal. Sumire's a little protective though, like a dog. If anything female makes a move toward him she barks – figure of speech – like crazy. Her bites a lot worse, though.

THE most complicated relationship was definitely Hotaru and Ruka. Apparently they'd been together for a very long time in secret, and had just decided to bring it out to the public now. Why? Because some girls started confessing to Ruka and Hotaru didn't like that. No girls dare go anywhere near Ruka now, either.

"Hey, Natsume. You seen the idiot?" Hotaru's voice pulled Natsume back through his memories to the now. He'd been distracting himself because Mikan wasn't around. He hadn't noticed that the lesson had already ended.

He shook his head. "She should be here though, right?" He shrugged, unconcerned for her absence. "Maybe she had to go to a meeting again and didn't have time to tell us. I'll call—"

"No need," Hotaru said, cutting him off midsentence. "I already tried calling, goes straight to message bank. No one's answering her home phones either. She's not at the office and neither are her parents." Hotaru's worry was evident in her voice. "She wouldn't leave without telling me, Hyuuga. She would leave without telling you."

Natsume tried not to look worried, but Hotaru saw straight through it, so he turned and walked away. "She'll be back tomorrow, don't worry, Imai."

--One week later

There had still been no sign of Mikan or her family. The staff at their mansion home were still working, however, but they'd been informed by an outside source to continue working. None of them knew where the Sakura's were, either.

Saying Natsume was anxious would be the understatement of the century. He's already hired several teams of investigators to find her, and still had nothing to show for his money wasting. _Mikan… Mikan where are you…?_ He thought desperately once more, dropping his head onto his desk. He didn't want to look around the room if he knew that Mikan wouldn't be there.

"Sakura-san!?" Sumire's and Anna's incredulous voice's literally knocked Natsume backwards off his chair, onto the floor. Well, not exactly like that. In a frenzy of emotions, mainly hope and love, he'd tried to stand up and move forward at the same time, forgetting he was on the chair. Tangled legs and the chair falling over had him scrambling to his feet from the floor cold floor.

Mikan stood in the entryway, staring at him with a blank expression. A few seconds later she was using the wall to support herself as she laughed with all her heart, almost choking herself. "You, you just fell over!" She gasped, pointing a shaky finger at him as she chortled. After a while she came to a stop, finally realizing that she was the centre of attention in the room.

She shifted, uncomfortable with their gazes. "Right. I was away for a while, wasn't I? I was visiting some relatives on a trip in Africa. They didn't have electricity or phones there, so I couldn't contact anyone." She looked up at Natsume, causing his heart to skip a beat. "I'm sorry."

In a blur of movement and startled gasps, Mikan was wrapped securely in Natsume's strong arms. He kept kissing her hair softly, completely oblivious to the prying eyes. "It's okay," he said, his eyes closing. "It's okay because you're okay. Because you're back now, so everything's perfectly okay. No, not okay. More than just '_okay_'."

Mikan slid out of his arms, taking his hand. "I love you too and I'm glad you're not mad, but we have Jinno sensei first up and I'd rather not have my ears chewed out." She smiled, touching his face. "It's so good to be able to tough you again." She sighed, a smile touching her lips.

They went to their seats next to the window and pulled out their work gear. "Seriously," Natsume mumbled, grabbing a piece of Mikan's long brown hair. "Why bother lugging around all those text books when you've got them all stored in that brilliant mind of yours?"

Mikan smirked, shrugging. "Why not? Can't do any harm to act like a normal student, right?" a tiny bit of that lost sorrow touched her eyes, and she quickly looked away, knowing Natsume would recognize it almost immediately.

She turned too late. "Being normal isn't all it's cracked up to be." He murmured, pulling her face back around to see could see it. "Forgetting things, getting tired and getting beaten up have no appeal at all. I wish I was like you." He smiled warmly. "Luckily I got something better than a highly developed body and a photographic memory. Because I've got something no one else can ever have. You." He bent in and kissed her passionately, watching her flush beet red.

She cleared her throat, turning her face to the window she sat beside. "Pay attention, Natsume. We're in class and you need to learn." He could hear the smirk in her voice. "Don't want to fall behind again, do we Hyuuga?"

He smiled, shaking his head, knowing that she could see him. They'd talk again, after class. They'd talk until she had to go to work and he had to do homework, and then they'd talk again over the phone when they were both home. Natsume wanted to absorb her into him, so she could never disappear again.

He couldn't be happy without this crazy, athletic, genius girl that had a hobby for saving people and pretending to be a commoner. She'd shredded his repetitive lifestyle that he'd grown accustomed to, which he found fantastic. Nothing was better than waking up in the morning and not knowing what would happy in the next 24 hours.

What would he do without her? Who cares, anyway? He'd never have to be without her.

Ever.

--

Misaki and Tsubasa grinned, silently watching Hotaru and Ruka as they had another lover quarrel over Hotaru's evil, blackmailing ways. It was routine, of course. They must have been relieved that they no longer had to hide their relationship from the public, and their friends.

Which, they both assumed, is exactly how Mikan Sakura must feel. Finally able to relax and fit in with everyone else without being teased and traumatized. Misaki's eyebrow twitched as she contemplated paying Hotaru to invent a time-machine to go back in time to beat the crap out of her younger self for being such a horrible person.

Tsubasa saw her frown and flicked her in the forehead, laughing at her stunned expression. "If you frown you'll be all wrinkly like a prune when you're older. I won't marry a prune." He grinned, dodging her kick and retreating t the elevator where Natsume and Mikan were sure to appear.

For a moment he thought they'd be too late, but just in time the doors slid open and he ducked behind Natsume. As a natural reaction to seeing someone attack Natsume – the man she loved – Mikan dropped her bag and grabbed Misaki's leg before she realized what she was doing.

"Oh, crap," she dropped Misaki's leg, biting her lip. "Sorry Misaki. It's an involuntary action that occurs when I see something I love in danger." She squeezed Natsume's hand in her own. "Anyhow, moving on to more important matters – we're all going to ditch school and go shopping at the new shopping mall built by the Sakura's and Hyuuga's, alright? Dad said I could invite a few friends to go on a free-for-all shopping spree.

"First ten items free, too. After that you have to pay." She smiled, handing the special gift cards to each member of the special class: Hotaru, Yuu, Ruka, Tsubasa, Misaki, Sumire, Kokoro, Youichi and Anna. She gave Anna an extra one with Nonoko's name on it. "Go get her, could you? Before she goes to class, I mean. The cars out the front, we'll meet you there." She then turned back to the others, as if challenging them to object.

When nobody did, she smiled and skipped back over to the elevating, linking her arm through Hotaru's while Natsume and Ruka made their way over with the rest. Hotaru eyed Mikan suspiciously. "What?" she asked, quirking a delicate brown brow.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed. "Don't you '_what_' me like you're innocent, Sakura. You're gone for a week and when you get back you drag us all out of school to a shopping trip. Next it'll be slumber parties and big formal parties with media coverage." She snapped sarcastically.

Mikan's eyes popped open wide like Hotaru had slapped her with a slimy fish. "Who the hell told you all of that!? I told mum and dad not… to…" she trailed off, her face dropping into a scowl. "Oh. You were being sarcastic. I should have known." She muttered, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

Hotaru glared at her harshly. "You're holding out on me, Mikan." She said emotionlessly. "I know it must be important, so I'm not going to pressure you. But if I find out… well, never mind. Just don't lock things away anymore, okay? I'm sick of your silent suffering."

Mikan gasped dramatically, using her free hand to cover her gaping mouth. "Dear lord! Hotaru Imai just issued me a subtle order to _complain_ more often! Holy shit, the world is coming to an edge! Hell's freezing over—" she bit her lip at Hotaru's death glare.

"That's better." She said, smirking a little. She loved her best friend, envied her even. No other person could go through so many hardships and survive and then still put others before themselves while keeping a smile plastered to her face the entire time. That was definitely one of the many special traits of Mikan Sakura.

Sumire edged her way over closer to Mikan and Hotaru as they left the elevator, walking out towards the car park. "I heard something about parties." She said, grinning. Of course she heard their conversation. Sumire had the ears of a dog when it came to gossip, but she knew better now than to try and spread rumors about Mikan. She valued her social standing almost as much as she valued her life.

Mikan sighed, shaking her head in exasperation, smiling a little for unknown reasons. "Yeah. Don't go spreading it around or I'll un-invite you, though. Only select few will be attending the slumber party. But I suggest you pick out a nice outfit for the formal party, though. Black-tie occasion." She grinned at the excitement in Sumire's eyes. "You can invite your family and a special guest." She announced, knowing very well that the entire group had been sucking in her words.

She smiled over at Natsume, mouthing the words 'I love you' like she was locked in a sound proof room and he wouldn't be able to hear her. He mimicked the action back at her, punching Ruka in the arm when he commented on their lovey-dovey-ness.

Mikan smirked when they spotted the stretch limo and gestured for them to get in. She waited outside the door for Anna and Nonoko. Once they were in the car she slid in beside them, relaying the party news.

Nonoko's lips pursed. "Are the boys coming over for the slumber party too Mikan?" she asked, looking deterred. Mikan guessed she was another girl with self-esteem issues about her body and frowned a little. Nonoko was gorgeous, she didn't need to worry.

Mikan shook her head, grinning. "Of course not. My dad and all the male butlers are going to stay at the villa in the mountains for two days and one night for the duration of the party." Mikan grinned. "You know what? Invite your mums, too. My maids and mother plan to join in on the fun as well. Wear the sexist underwear you have. We'll have a ball without male intervention."

Misaki, Sumire, Anna, and Nonoko's eyes glimmered with glee. "We could buy some lingerie at the mall!" Misaki chirped, grinning as the words left her lips. "Poor boys. I bet they'd love to see this." She sighed dramatically, and the other girls joined in.

Mikan nodded, smirking to herself. "Of course, ladies, of course. Make sure you're comfortable though, thats the main point. I've organized Karaoke, guitar hero, twister and I've hired a team of beauticians and hairdressers for the occasional as well. Mums got some designer friends coming over, we're going to see their new line of clothes and pick one set each." Mikan grinned with satisfaction at their excited squeals. "And to finish it off me and Hotaru hired some people to turn my basement into a virtual reality."

They stared at her quizzically, but she let Hotaru explain. She was always better with the technical things – she knew how to dumb it down. Mikan just listed every big word she could think of.

"The room is covered in white padding for safety reasons for starters. You slip on elbows and knee pads, a vest, special boots and gloves and a half helmet next. And then you pick your character, design it if you want. And then you pick your settings. You can be flying like angels, swimming like mermaids or whatever else. You could play a sport if you really wanted. It's just a virtual reality so you don't need all of the equipment." She shrugged.

Mikan frowned. "It's extremely high-tech but it's easy to use." Mikan grinned. "It's my house. We're going to fly like angels, I say."

The rest of the trip to the mall continued like that. The girls discussed the details of the slumber party that would take place in two days time. The boys sat and listened in envy, wishing they could take part. For the games, if not for watching 5 beautiful girls laze around in sexy lingerie all day and night.

Silently, Natsume began his plotting.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated, of course ^.^**

**Am looking forward to this slumber party to be honest, and I'm not even invited.  
**


	13. Slumber Party? I think not

**Um... wow. So I guess its sort of been forever. Literally. At least a year, possibly two? I won't make up excuses: i had the chapters, but i never uploaded them. Then I got a new laptop and didn't bother transferring the files. So I lost them, and didn't feel like rewriting them. Therefore, they are gone forever. So I'm rewritting them, but it will be done at turtle speed. I'm in my last year of highschool, so I am extraordinarily busy D:**

**I'm also thinking of deleting the previous chapters and editing them, because I read through them and sweet mother of lord, there are SO MANY spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Its depressing to see how horribly failed that was. Its probably because I never used to bother rereading them once I wrote them TT_TT**

**So, anyway, sorry for being an extremely lazy author. I doubt many of you still await this stories updated, but if you do and you actually read this chapter then thank-you for being the most loyal reader I have ever, ever met. Like, ever.**

**Here's chapter 13, for the loyal ones and the bored ones (:**

* * *

**13**

**Day of the Slumber Party.**

"So, do you think the boys are actually going to just sit around without trying to infiltrate the slumber party?" Misaki asked, once again casting her gaze out the window to survey the perimeter. "I seriously doubt they will. And I wouldn't put it past them to make it past all the security you set up."

Mikan giggled and stood, walking over to Misaki to put a hand on her shoulder. "That security isn't to stop them, Misaki." she grinned mischievously. "Its merely there to slow them down."

**-x Meanwhile...**

"So here's the plan," Natsume said as he finished handing out folders. Each folder contained a battle plan, the schematics of the Sakura mansion with all of the windows, exits and entries highlighted in red. They had every security camera and guard mapped out, also. Other items found in the folder was a list for each member of the group, a tiny black earphone and a little pin-on microphone. Also, grippy black gloves. Makes climbing easy and safer.

Koko, Ruka, Tsubasa, Yuu and Youichi each opened their folders. Each member of the group was dressed in black, tight-fit combat boots and long black and grey camo cargo pants, with long sleeved skin-tight black tee's over white tank tops. Strapped across their backs were, for safety purposes, paint ball machine guns. Naturally, they had little pouches on a cargo belt on either side of their hips filled with ammunition.

"Are you sure we're going to need guns?" Yuu asked, staring at the gun he held in he's hands. He looked nervous, but excited. "I mean, who're we going to shoot with them?"

Natsume held up his own folder. "Guards. We get them in soft spots, and then while they're down we use rope to tie them up. Then we stash them in the shrubs located on the East entrance wing, which you'll find highlighted in yellow on your map. In your folder. With every other scrap of information about the mission."

"And where exactly do you plan to find this rope you speak of?" Tsubasa quirked a brow expectantly.

Natsume smirked, glad to crush Tsubasa hope of finding him disorganized and unprepared. He opened the back of the SUV to reveal a pile of black backpacks. "Each backpack contains 5 strong ropes, a water bottle, a bandage, night vision glasses and, just for the hell of it, black headbands with your names on them."

Tsubasa huffed, stepping forward to take the backpack with his name on it. "Let's do this!" He roared, snapping on his gloves for emphasis of his enthusiasm.

The others followed his example, putting their gloves and earphones in, pinning on their microphones and pulling on their bags and paint guns. Natsume was the last to tighten his headband as they approached the Sakura mansion.

_We're coming for you, Mikan. You just wait._ Natsume grinned.

**-x** **Meanwhile...**

"Right, girls! You all geared up?" Mikan Hollered, grinning like a mad woman as she tucked in two pistol-sized hand guns into the halters on her thighs.

"'Slumber party' she said," Hotaru shook her head in exasperation. "I should have known better then to believe that _the_ Mikan Sakura would want to sit around painting nails and curling hair all night."

Mikan looked smug. "Of course. Everyone knows that 'slumber party' secretly translates to 'trick the boys into thinking they need to infiltrate a slumber party while in reality we're going to have the most epic paint ball battle of all time'!"

"Yeah, everybody that's completely_ lost_ it." Sumire muttered.

Despite being told that they wouldn't be getting makeovers and manicures while watching chick flicks all night, the girls had overcome their disappointment only to be infected by Mikan's excitement. Each one of them was dressed in tight black jeans, knee-high flat-bottom leather lace up black boots, tight fit black sweaters and black leather gloves. They also wore black beanies and, just to get really into the spirit of battle, Mikan had put a single black line on each of their cheeks under both eyes.

In addition to the basics, there were the guns. Mikan had lead them all to a room full of paint guns of all shapes and sizes. There were shot guns, machine guns, pistols, cross bows and even paint grenades. Each girl now had a pouch of 5 grenades on their hips, two big guns/crossbows on their backs and thigh or arm halters holding pistols.

Misaki had chosen two shot guns and a single pistol strapped to her arm. Sumire had selected two pistols and a machine gun. Anna had selected two machine guns. Hotaru had selected a machine gun, a shot gun and three pistols (both thighs, one arm). Nonoko had selected two pistols. And Mikan? Mikan had a machine gun, a shotgun, 4 pistols and a crossbow.

Question: Her aim?

Answer: Total annihilation.

The girls had already been through battle tactics, and all of the guards knew that they were to do nothing but slow the boys down and make it look like they planned on stopping them in their tracks. It'd only be an ego boost for them when they got straight through them, which would make them cocky and headstrong. Easier to take down.

A blaring alarm shot through the room briefly before cutting off completely, causing all the girls to scream and drop or duck to hide from danger. Mikan chuckled at them all. "That's the signal, girls. They've been spotted."

"So what now?" Anna asked, a mischievous glint to her eye. Looking around at the faces of all the other girls, Mikan found the exact same look cloned 5 times over. Mikan didn't need a mirror to know that it was only intensified in her own eyes.

"The battle begins."

**-x Meanwhile...**

"Is that the last one?" Ruka asked Natsume, breathing heavily. They'd just taken out their twentieth guard, which according to their information, should be the last of the increased security. Yuu had also completed his task of disabling any and all alarms and video camera's.

Natsume nodded, also breathing quite heavily. "Alright boys," he said into his microphone. "Follow the highlighted orange paths on your maps. They all lead to the cottage, which is where the slumber party is being held. Keep low, and do _not_ be seen. If you are by chance spotted, you run like hell and do not get captured. Understood?"

"Affirmative." Tsubasa chuckled.

"Clear." Yuu huffed.

"Understood." Koko's smirk could be heard in his voice.

"Yes sir." Youichi's breathing could be heard through the line, and his heavy breath indicated that he was already on the move.

Natsume turned to Ruka and grinned. "See you on the other side, Ruka. Goodluck." with that they split, taking off on their allocated paths.

Natsume ran through the trees and the shrubs, ducking and rolling across the unfortunately open parts of his path. He was covered in dirt and sweat, he was tired but his body was full of excitement and energy. The fresh air of the cold night bit at his face, keeping him wide awake. He ducked behind a tree to catch his breath and survey the area.

It was then, in his surveying, that he saw it. A foot. In a tree. _No one was meant to go tree climbing!_ He thought furiously, slipping his backpack off. "Alright. Whose in the tree on the west middle flank?" Natsume whispered angrily into his microphone.

Each of the boys insisted that it was not them. "If its none of us, then who the hell is it?" he demanded. "Never mind." he sighed, opening his backpack to pull out his night vision glasses. He slid them on and army-crawled forward through the leaf litter in the shrubs. When he was close enough to the tree to see through the thick leafy branches, he glanced up...

...And saw a puff of bubblegum pink hair. Hair that could only to one person. that could only belong to one girl. _Anna? _He's smothered a gasp. What in the hell was Anna doing up there? Natsume crawled closer, adjusting the dial on the side of his glasses so that he could see her better. He made out guns. And a headset.

Not. Good.

He scrambled backwards through the underbrush until he was a good 50 meters away from the tree Anna was hidden in. "Guys!" He panted into the microphone. "Watch out! The girls are out here, in the tree's, and they're armed!"

A feminine chuckle sounded in his earphone. "You're too late, Natsume. The battle has already begun."

The line fuzzed out as Mikan crushed the microphone.

The battle had well and truly begun.

**-x Meanwhile...**

Mikan finished tying Tsubasa up tightly, then proceeded to tie him to a small tree. She raided his backpack and took his rope and a swig of his water. She also stole his night vision glasses.

"How careless of you, Tsubasa." Mikan taunted, squirting his paint-covered face with water. "Allowing yourself to be distracted by Misaki so easily. How typically male of you." he shot her a glare as Misaki dropped from the tree she had been_ pretending_ to hide in.

"You really think I'd leave myself so obviously hidden, babe?" she kissed his forehead before shooting him in the stomach, leaving a fluorescent pink splatter. "Puh-lease. Frankly, I'm insulted."

The girls laughed together before dropping to the ground. "You see him?" Misaki whispered, inclining her head to the spot where Yuu had just crouched down to catch his breath.

Mikan nodded. "I see him. Want me to play bait this time?"

Misaki grinned. "Sure, we'd better hurry before he starts running again though–" Miksaki stopped short as Nonoko dropped out of the tree that Yuu was crouching next to. Yuu was left with no time to relax as she wrapped a rope around him, stringing him to the tree. She shot him three times in the stomach, leaving bright blue blotches on his black and grey get-up.

"Well, I guess that means I'm not playing bait, huh?" Mikan and Misaki jogged over to where Nonoko was struggling to tie Yuu up. They each shot him once, adding orange and pink to his pretty blue and black outfit before assisting Nonoko.

"The more you struggle, the more we shoot." Misaki smiled sweetly.

"I don't understand," Yuu cried. "You're meant to be in lingerie, in the cottage, painting each others nails and having pillow fights!"

All three of the girls laughed. "Don't you think running around, getting muddy and sweaty and shooting perverted boys with pretty coloured paint is much more fun? We certainly thought so." Nonoko said as she finished tightening him to the tree.

"How many do you think are left?" Hotaru asked through the microphone. "Sumire and I just finished dealing with Youichi and Ruka, and we just saw Koko run into a tree. As in he ran into it, hit it, and fell over. He hasn't gotten back up yet, either. We're going to deal with him now."

"Well then, we've got Yuu and Tsubasa. That only leaves..." Misaki trailed off, glancing at Mikan.

Her eyes twinkled. "Natsume."

**-x Meanwhile...**

By this stage, Natsume had established three main, crucial facts:

1)The girls were not wearing lingerie and beating each other with pillows while giggling and painting their nails,  
2)He was the only member of the male group that hadn't been captured and tied to a tree, and then finally,  
3)If he were unlucky enough to be captured and tied up to a tree, it was likely that he, and the other boys, would be _left_ tied to that tree all night.

Conclusion: Must. Not. Be. Caught.

Easier said than done, though.

Natsume sat and watched Anna. He knew that he ought to try and capture her, but he also knew that if he _did_ try and capture her that she'd likely alert the other girls to his whereabouts almost immediately. The girls had Mikan.

No one could escape Mikan.

Natsume ran.

**-x Meanwhile...**

"No one can escape me." Mikan stated simply, smiling. "Especially not Natsume. He may be the trickiest to catch, but we _will_ catch him. And we _will _catch him within the hour. Would you like to know how we're going to catch him?"

"Oh, do enlighten us." Hotaru said. Mikan ignored her sarcasm.

"We're going to catch him by sitting right here and not moving an inch. He'll come looking, or he'll be trying to escape the estate. Either way, he's bound to pass us at some stage. So if we just sit tight, maybe wait in the bushes, hidden, then he'll come sprinting by eventually. Then I'll tackle him, and you girls can tie him up."

"You really think that'll work?" Nonoko asked sceptically. "He never seemed to be that sort of idiot–"

Natsume came to a sliding stop in the middle of the driveway, heading in the direction of the estates main gates. Mikan cleared her throat and glanced at Nonoko. "That was much quicker than I'd expected." Mikan murmured. "You were saying?"

"Right." Nonoko said, shaking her head. "He is your boyfriend, after all."

But Mikan was already gone, chasing down a retreating figure of Natsume. The chase didn't last long, the girls surrounded him and tied him up. They all shot him once in the stomach.

"And now the slumber party really begins, girls."

Mikan giggled.

**-x**

"This is humiliating." Ruka said, blushing crimson. The girls had gone and collected the boys, dragging them all over to the cottage. They then had maids (trained butlers, obviously) change them into frilly costumes. Ruka wore a blue maids outfit, Natsume red, Koko green, Yuu prange, Youichi yellow and Tsubasa pink.

But they hadn't stopped there.

The girls had then brought out a sinister silver suitcase. It turned out to be full of make-up. The girls had applied matching lipstick and eye-shadow to all of the boys, adding little hair clips and tied their hair in pigtails.

Hotaru had then proceeded to capture photographic evidence. On several camera's. And phones.

They were now tied to chairs 50 meters outside of the cabin, where they would spend the night and probably the next day. They could hear the girls inside to cottage, squealing and playing games. Surely now, the girls were in lingerie. Surely now, they were painting their nails and having pillow fights.

Surely now, they were having a _real_ slumber party.

"They called it a battle," Tsubasa sighed. "But it was more like slaughter."

"The most epic paintball slaughter ever." Koko agreed.

"Absolutely. Humiliating." Natsume sighed.

* * *

**The original chapter was waaaaaaaaaaaay different, but I can't remember it so I completely reinvented it. **

**Anywaaaaay, thanks for reading (: **

**Reviews appreciated, critism is always welcome, so long as its constructive and not just rage-flaming...**

**unless you're rage flaming about the year-long wait for a new chapter. If that's the case, you're perfectly entitled to an epic rage. D:**


	14. Are you with me?

Okay... So guys, if you're still there, do you want me to keep going with this one? I mean, it's been a long time, and I want to get back into it if I can. I miss writing fanfiction, and I miss trying to confuse the lot of you with strange, pointless plot twists and such.

I'd also like to believe I'm a better writer now, mainly because I graduated senior English and am now majoring in an English course - that means the quality should be better. I also remember where I was going with this story, how I planned to end it and all of that jazz.

I would have to re-read it though, and I'll probably go through and edit the first chapters before updating them. Because, frankly, they kind of suck. I mean seriously I just read half a chapter and cringed at the constant flow of errors and thing that just DO NOT make any sense.

So if you want me to continue, give it a review or PM me saying so - I promise I'll update at **LEAST** monthly, if not weekly. I'll keep going if 10 or so of you are still keen, otherwise I might just start up another project... I'm not sure.

Anyway, let me know. Thanks for the continued support guys, and for the more recent support too (: xx


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